MySheen

Why didn't the sloth become extinct?

Published: 2024-11-05 Author: mysheen
Last Updated: 2024/11/05, Why didn't the sloth become extinct?

Sloth is a general term for sloth suborder of mammals, including three-toed sloth and two-toed sloth. Each genus has one to several species due to different classification system. There are 2 families, 2 genera and 6 species, which are slightly monkey-like in shape and slow in movement. it gets its name because it is commonly used to hang its claws upside down from a branch for hours without movement. let's take a look at why the sloth didn't become extinct.

Why didn't the sloth become extinct?

First, the sloth has done a good job in protecting the color, which is already very close to the background color, coupled with being good at using green algae to grow on the body, from afar, it is difficult to be found. And the fur is hard, so it's okay to resist ordinary predators. Claws don't attack, but it's hard for any animal to eat it because it's so tightly glued to the trunk. In addition, sloth meat is not delicious, which is a survival benefit brought by evolution. Generally, animals with distinctive colors and lack of means of defense will taste bad, and predators will not spend their own energy to eat bad prey.

How lazy is the sloth?

The sloth is a kind of mammal that is too lazy to do anything, even too lazy to eat or play, and even crawls slowly when being chased and caught as if nothing had happened. In the face of danger, the speed of its escape is no more than 0.2 meters per second. People often compare slowness to turtle crawling, but sloths climb more slowly than turtles. It is said that half a month after feeding leaves to the sloth, the sloth's mouth was opened, and the leaves were still in the mouth, only slightly rotten, so that he did not bother to chew the leaves and let the saliva digest slowly.

What are the natural enemies of sloths?

The sloth is the only wild animal with plants, which has been highly specialized into arboreal life and has lost the ability to move on the ground. it usually hangs upside down on the branches, the hair is fluffy and intends to grow, the hair is green with algae, and there are relatively few natural enemies. It is not easy to find, but it is found in the recipes of leopards, horn eagles, tiger cats and pythons. Although the survival of the sloth is not threatened by natural predators, the destruction of American forests by human beings has brought disaster to the sloth.

 
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