tags: sloths, humor, streaming video
This is a streaming video that shows you a little bit about those forgotten mammals, sloths. These animals are native to Central and South America. They belong to the families Megalonychidae and Bradypodidae, in the taxonomic order Pilosa. They are omnivores, eating insects, small lizards and carrion whan they can find it, but their diet mainly consists of buds, tender shoots, and especially leaves. Because they subsist primarily on leaves, which have little nutritive value and are difficult to digest, sloths have multichambered stomachs filled with symbiotic bacteria that break down leaves for them. It may a sloth take as long as one month or more to digest a meal.
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Elder offspring (age 6.5): I can't wait for Friday! We get to do science in school!
Younger offspring (age 4.5): We do nature study every day.
This could be an opportunity to say something really smart and interesting, or it could be an excuse for silliness.
As many of our readers know, Benny and I love sloths. Recently a Zooillogix reader, Jennifer Lapsker, traveled to Costa Rica for a sloth-filled vacation.