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All over the world, life is endlessly boiling. People fuss, try to create comfortable conditions around them, overcoming a lot of difficulties, and animals, in search of food and better conditions, are ready to cope with any difficulties, fight enemies, actively defending their territory. And only sloths philosophically deny all this fuss, probably finding it strange and useless. Their life goes slowly and decorously in slow motion on the branches of the trees whose leaves they feed on. So that nothing breaks such a rhythm, nature has provided for everything: the special structure of internal organs and the external adaptations of the animal.
Perhaps one of the first who described this beast was C. Darwin, comparing the remains of a huge, superior elephant, megaterium found in South America. This beast, as it turned out in the study, was a mammal and an edentulous. And the average sloth exactly has the same structure of the spine and skull, his children also feed on breast milk, and the teeth also have no enamel coating, and do not have a complex structure.
To classify the sloth, they identified American non-tootheds in the class, and along with it were armadillos, anteaters and others with different tooth structures. Although outwardly they are significantly different from each other.
Appearance
It is very easy to distinguish a small sloth who is sleeping peacefully on a branch from other animals. This family does not differ in diversity; there are only five species that are divided into sloths of three- and two-fingered.
These are small animals with a height of 50 to 60 cm. And their weight is very small - from 4 to 6 kg. Looking at the appearance, you can decide that this is a monkey, however, this is a very big mistake, although there are some common signs in their physiques.
The muzzle is very overgrown with thick and long hair, so black eyes that look like small buttons on the eyes stand out very clearly, as does the black nose. The ears are very small. The sloth has such facial muscles that it seems that he is constantly in a good mood, and the smile does not leave his sweet, good-natured face. But, by the way, when food is nearby, and the enemies are far away, is this not a reason for a benevolent mood.
From 8 to 9 cervical vertebrae are located in the neck, and this is their advantage over other mammals, which have less of them, and even the giraffe has no more than 7. Thanks to this number, the sloth can view the space by turning its head 180 degrees.
The tail is very small, it is not easy to distinguish it under a thick layer of wool. A distinctive feature of this animal is its fingers. They are oblong and fused along the entire length, at the end they resemble long curved hooks, and it is thanks to them that the sloth hangs deftly even on the most curved branch, moves along the ground. But animals cannot make various jumps and swing freely on branches.
Their hair is shaggy, long and thick, with a brownish-gray color.
Since this animal does not make active movements, its metabolic processes are inhibited, and the body temperature does not rise above 33 degrees. And sometimes it can drop to 24 degrees, and the animal will feel excellent at the same time.
Internal organs do not cease to attract the attention of scientists, since they are truly unique in everything. The teeth have no roots; no enamel coating is observed either. All teeth are equal, and each performs the same function, there is no difference between them.Only two-fingered can be found isolated fangs. Of all the senses, only the sense of smell is well developed, but otherwise nature has not been generous. Therefore, sight, hearing among sloths do not differ in good qualities.
From the peculiar way of life, the insides of the animal underwent great changes, and now the liver is separated from the abdominal wall by the stomach and is located almost at the back. The stomach and intestines are very large. And not surprisingly, because the weight of the animal is almost half composed of digestible vegetation, and the intestines are cleaned once a week or much less. The bladder is also large, and so large that it reaches the diaphragm. And this is not surprising either, because the sloth has to go down to the soil to empty the bladder, and this action occurs once every few days.
Over time, the spleen moved to the right, and the trachea bent. All these movements are associated with the fact that the animal prefers to often hang with its back down.
Where do sloths live
The natural conditions of Central and South America are most favorable for these shaggy animals. Less often you can meet them in Honduras or in the northern part of Argentina. In the most often warm equatorial or tropical forest, they settle where there is a wide crown with a large amount of tasty food, preferring only a tree-like lifestyle. Move in limbo, clutching a branch with its claw-hooks and hanging upside down, and strong muscles can hold the entire body mass. But many researchers argue that muscle mass is not so much developed, the sloth hangs solely because of its claws.
Sloths can also find refuge in the mountains, if, of course, there are dense trees at an altitude of up to 1,100 m.
Sloths sometimes have to leave a tree. When it is time to empty the bladder and intestines, they are forced to descend to the soil, often overcoming a distance of more than 30 - 40 m.This journey takes a long time, but it happens rarely, since food is processed in the gastrointestinal tract for a long time - almost a week. Special bacteria live in the intestines that help digest such complex, solid plant foods.
Before starting the process of defecation, they must dig a small hole, and then carefully rake the made toilet.
Beasts move on the earth also slowly, on their stomachs. They throw the paw forward, and then pull themselves towards it. In this case, the claws help them a lot.
But then these animals swim quickly - more than 3-4 km / h. These qualities are especially useful when the water in certain seasonal periods, in the flood, floods the earth and does not leave for several months. Swimming helps here: water contains algae, which become entangled in wool and give it an emerald hue. This color then can play a saving role when it will be necessary to hide from a predator.
And there are a lot of dangers in these friendly animals. Their meat is tasty, therefore a man preys on them. Going down, a sloth can get caught by a jaguar or cougar. These wild ferocious cats can also hunt on the lower branches of trees, because the sloth tries to stay as high as possible, where the branches are thinner. However, misfortune can happen there. Harpies - birds of prey and powerful - can remove a small animal from a branch without making special efforts. In water, they can be eaten by a crocodile.
But when danger lies in wait, the sloth manifests itself as an active fighter, launching his powerful claws. Due to good vitality, excellent immunity, very slow metabolism, unhurried blood flow, these animal wounds are not so painful.
Forest Resident Lifestyle
It is very difficult to see a sloth in the forest.Not only does he live on a tall tree, but does not move much, his coat color is barely noticeable, his breathing is quiet. The movements of the animal are never sharp, it is possible that they will begin to jump and swing on the branches. They can move in a minute just a few meters.
They prefer to live alone, but if suddenly two individuals find themselves together on the same branch, then a quarrel over the division of the territory never happens. Such a neighborhood is quite peaceful, and they even sleep nearby. And sleep is usually very long - at least 10 hours.
In their thick wool, butterflies of a moth find shelter, using such a haven as a reliable shelter.
The sloth eats foliage and fruits of trees, not migrating anywhere. If suddenly a butterfly, insect or a lizard appeared very close, they will be immediately eaten. The basis of nutrition is eucalyptus leaves. While the animal does not sleep, he eats almost constantly, because such food does not contain many calories, and saturation will come only after a large number of leaves eaten. In addition, the sloth's teeth are constantly growing, because they have to constantly grind. To quench their thirst, these animals lick the dew from the surface of the leaves. However, mostly moisture is found in juicy tropical fruits and leaves, and the body is enough of this wave.
Due to the fact that this tree resident most often likes to be in limbo, his paws are busy, and he obtains food using his lips and teeth.
All food is digested very slowly, and this process continues for a month. Therefore, defecation does not occur as often as in other animals, but from one to three times a month.
Procreation
In principle, everything suits the sloth, but if he is dissatisfied with something, he can sniff loudly or make mournful sounds. But when it is required to attract a female or a male, then any sloth tries to do his best, because only in this way you can find a partner for mating games. For three-fingered individuals, the time for this falls on the spring, and for two-fingered mating season stretches for the whole year. These animals never fight among themselves for the chosen one.
After the female became pregnant, the male leaves her, and in the future it is the mother’s concern - to bear the cub, feed and raise.
The first few months, except for breast milk, the baby does not receive any food. Then mom allows him to eat leaves in small quantities, so that the body also assimilates solid food. In this children's period, sloths are quite active. Sloth mom is very sensitive and caring, she tries to pass on to the child all her knowledge of survival.
Already at the age of 9 months, a grown child is ready for an independent life. But it is believed that a sloth can become fully ripe in 2.5 years. Usually, females leave their mother earlier, starting an independent life.
If the conditions are favorable, these animals can live up to 40 years.
Video: Sloth (Bradypodidae)
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