Who is faster sloth snail. The slowest animal is the sloth. Ninth place: Yadozub

Moving at just 0.000023 m/s, the banana slug is considered one of the slowest moving animals in the world.

All types of fauna have certain features that make them. Various characteristics allow animals to adapt to their native . Some representatives of the animal world, such as, have the ability to run at incredible speeds, while others are very slow. Although it may seem strange, moving slowly has its advantages. Below are some of the slowest animals on earth.

corals

Corals can be safely attributed to the slowest moving animals in the world, as they actually do not move at all. Corals - which are mainly found in the marine environment, and exist as compact colonies of genetically identical polyps. Coral reefs reproduce either through spawning. They also provide food and shelter for other marine organisms. Therefore, corals play an important, if not decisive, role in marine biodiversity.

banana slug

Moving at just 0.000023 m/s, the banana slug is the slowest animal on the planet. Banana slug is the common name given to three species of North American land snails in the genus Ariolimax. They are usually yellow in color, and some have brown spots that resemble a ripe banana. Banana slugs can also be olive, brown, white, or greenish in color. Various slugs change their color depending on the level of humidity, light and food intake. The different colors of the slug also help indicate the age of the banana slug, or its health status.

pygmy seahorse

pygmy seahorse ( Hippocampus zosterae) is a special type of seahorse that is found off the coast of the Bahamas and other parts of the United States. This seahorse is the slowest moving fish in the world, swimming at a speed of about 0.016 km per hour. The pygmy seahorse's habitat is generally limited to some coastal areas, so the species is threatened by habitat loss. Unlike most other fish, pygmy seahorses are monogamous and remain partners for life. This rare species refers to animals in which males, not females, bear offspring.

Galapagos elephant tortoise

Galapagos elephant tortoise ( Chelonoidis nigra), also known as the giant tortoise, is the longest-lived animal on the planet. Currently, giant tortoises are found only in two remote archipelagos - one on Aldabra, 700 km east of Tanzania, and the other in the Galapagos, 972 km west of Ecuador. The Galapagos tortoise is the slowest reptile on Earth, moving at about 0.37 km per hour on land and slightly faster in water. They have a heavy body weighing up to 350 kg, which does not allow the animal to move faster. The heavy shell, together with thick legs, also play a significant role in the slow movement of the elephant tortoise.

american woodcock

American Woodcock ( Scolopax minor) is a species of bird from the genus woodcock that lives in eastern North America. The bird spends most of its time camouflaged as fallen leaves, especially along the litter of young woodland habitats. Urbanization and deforestation leading to habitat loss explain the declining populations of this bird species. The American Woodcock is the slowest bird in the world, flying at about 8 km per hour.

Note that the speeds indicated in the material are the maximum attack speeds for these animals. That is, in the case when it seems to you that 6.67 m / s is a lot, then focus on the speed of human acceleration (about 9 m / s). Animals develop maximum speeds during a short jerk, the rest of the time they move much more slowly.

arizona gila, or a gila monster. Despite the frightening name, this large poisonous lizard that lives in North America is unlikely to pose a danger to humans. And all because the gila-tooth moves at a speed of 667 cm per second. In addition, the Arizona gila-tooth eats no more than 10 times a year, i.e., it is not so often interested in prey.

Koala- the cutest marsupial animal, spending most of its life in the crowns of eucalyptus trees. Koalas can run at a gallop and even swim, but they generally prefer to move less, spending 16-18 hours a day without moving. During the day, koalas usually sleep, and if they don’t sleep, they just sit motionless, clasping a branch with their paws. At night, the animal slowly climbs the tree, feasting on the leaves. The fastest speed that koalas can reach when climbing a tree is about 447 cm per second.

american woodcock- a small migratory bird, which is considered a harbinger of spring in the northern states of America. The slowest representative of the class of birds, the American woodcock moves at a speed of 222 cm per second. But thanks to high-set large eyes, the American woodcock has perhaps the largest field of view among birds. Who knows if this affects the speed of flight: what if these birds like to move slowly, because they like to look at everything around?

manatees- large herbivorous aquatic mammals. Their weight varies from 400 to 550 kg: it is not surprising that they are slow and clumsy. In addition, they do not migrate long distances. Living in shallow water, they swim rather for their own pleasure, developing a speed of 139-222 cm per second.

Lori are members of the primate family. Huge, saucer-like eyes, disproportionately long arms that look like human hands, strange, ridiculous postures and movements - due to all this, lorises seem to be alien creatures. Loris are active at night, although "activity" here is also very conditional: they do not like fast and hasty movements and move at an average speed of 55.5 cm per second.

giant turtle, one of the two largest land tortoise species on the planet. Everyone knows about the slowness of turtles. The giant tortoise is the slowest representative of the order of turtles and the class of reptiles in general. A heavy shell, a large weight (about 300 kg on average) and short, columnar legs, with all the desire, will not allow the turtle to move faster. True, they have nowhere to hurry - the average life expectancy of a giant tortoise is about 100 years, so the speed of 76 cm per second for them may not be so small.

Starfish- a member of the class of invertebrates. To date, there are about 1600 species of starfish, and it is natural that each species has its own characteristics, including speed. So, the average speed of a starfish varies from 0.89 to 2.7 cm per second. The slowest of the starfish, Dermasterias imbricata, travels only 0.25 cm per second, while Luidia foliolata, which lives in the Pacific Ocean, can accelerate to 4.7 cm per second.

Three-toed sloths earned such a name for themselves due to lethargy and slowness. However, the reason for this is not laziness, but the need to save energy. Feeding on low-calorie leaves, they prefer to move only as a last resort. They sleep for 15 hours a day, but even during wakefulness they prefer to remain at rest, and if they move, then very slowly, with an average speed of 3 cm per second.

grape snail- the most famous shell gastropod mollusk and one of the slowest creatures on the planet. Their maximum speed is 1.3 cm per second, but just imagine: they move on the underside of the foot, the sole, carrying a whole house on their back!

Sea Horse although it is associated with the name of horses, it cannot boast of their speeds. Seahorses are small bony fish of the needle-like order. The maximum speed of movement that they are capable of reaches 0.04 cm per second. In addition, they move vertically, which clearly does not speed up the process.

Our planet is a place of grandiose accomplishments, where every detail is a cog in a huge living organism. We often do not notice beautiful and accessible things, we miss incredible scenes, we do not pay due attention to nature. Let's take a look today at the side of the coin that we often ignore. There we will discover an incredible world - a world of measured calm and discreet serenity.

Before you - the top 10 slowest animals in the world.

10 American Woodcock

The slowest bird in the world opens the rating of slow animals of the planet, the speed of which is about 8 km / h. The American Woodcock is a truly unique animal. Despite the colorful plumage, it prefers to fly exclusively during the mating season, while the rest of the time it is on the ground and leads a nocturnal, even hermitic lifestyle. It has large eyes that are unusual for its body and a long beak, which helps to find its favorite delicacy - earthworms.

9 Arizona gila-tooth

It has always been believed that snakes are the most poisonous reptiles on the planet. However, this statement is true until you encounter the Arizona gill (although outwardly it looks more like a magical cartoon dragon than a formidable lizard). The Arizona gila is considered the slowest reptile in the world. Named for its teeth, from the grooves of which poison flows. Just a few drops are enough to kill an adult dog in just an hour! They say it's better to die than to experience the pain of being bitten by a gila-tooth. It can be found in the dry areas of southwestern North America. This lizard loves to steal eggs and eat small rodents. Avoids crowded places and prefers to live alone.

8

These leisurely aquatic inhabitants are also called "sea cows", although for a long time they were considered mermaids (up to the 20th century). Compared to normal speed marine mammals, these animals are very slow (one of the slowest animals in the world). Manatees are quite large representatives of their species. They live in shallow water off the coast of Africa and America. The weight of individual individuals can reach 1800 kg. These representatives of the "siren" detachment love warm water, so they can often be found in the areas of thermal power plants in large cities. Manatees are big gluttons who continuously eat for 7 hours a day. They need to eat up to 50 kg of various dishes (plants, tree leaves, algae). Even with a subcutaneous layer of fat of 5 cm, manatees are sensitive to temperature changes. There were cases when manatees died in water at 18 degrees.

An interesting fact - scientists have found that, despite the very small brain size for an animal of this size, their level of intelligence is approximately equal to that of dolphins.

The most famous manatee, named Snoopy, lives in a Florida water park. His age is 65 years old. Sadly, manatees are on the brink of extinction.

7

The seahorse is ranked seventh on the list of the slowest animals in the world. The body features of this animal resemble a chess piece floating vertically in the sea. The speed of such a “figurine” is only 1.5 km / h, which makes skates the slowest fish in the underwater kingdom. Seahorses are interesting in that males bear offspring, and females, in turn, fight for the favor of the opposite sex. The uniqueness of the organism of such an animal lies in the absence of a stomach and teeth. They live in tropical seas, feed on small shrimps and crayfish. The mass harvest of seahorses off the coast of Southeast Asia has put the animals on the brink of extinction.

6 Koala

And now let's talk about leisurely marsupial "bears". In the top ten slowest animals, koalas are the only representatives of their kind. The place where you can meet them is the east coast of Australia. And although these furry animals look like bears, in fact, they do not even belong to this genus. Grow up to 80 cm, and weigh about 15 kg. They have different colors - from gray to reddish shades. They prefer to sleep for a long time (up to 20 hours!), grabbing trees with powerful claws. And they descend to the ground extremely rarely to move to another tree in search of food. They feed on shoots and leaves of eucalyptus, mainly at night. They are quite slow, however, if they are in danger, these animals can give out decent speed, reaction, and even know how to swim! By the way, koalas can be easily tamed.

5

Lori lemurs are considered the cutest creatures among all slow animals on the planet. This species of primates lives on trees in the forests of Southeast Asia. They grow up to 20 cm. They travel long distances in search of food, mainly at night. They feed on nectar, eggs, fruits, various insects. They are often found as pets. Most common in countries such as Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, where the business of selling these animals is widely practiced. Many consider lemurs to be great fun, but animal rights activists are sounding the alarm and protesting against sales. It turns out that captivity kills lemurs.

4

Throughout the world, the word "tortoise" is associated with slowness. But it really is true! This detachment of reptiles is very slow (especially the giant Galapagos (elephant) and Seychelles turtles) and ranks 4th in the ranking of the slowest animals in the world. They are rightfully considered the long-livers of our planet. Can travel the world for 200 years. They definitely have nowhere to rush, especially with a mass of 300 kg! They feed on vegetation. Each individual has its own characteristic pattern on the shell (like fingerprints in humans). Until the 20th century alone, about 200,000 Galapagos tortoises were caught.

3 Starfish

One of the most unusual, ancient, mysterious and beautiful creatures of our planet. Researchers agree that they existed at the beginning of the Paleozoic era. Starfish are among the top three slowest animals and are the slowest marine animals in the world. They live in the depths of the sea in every corner of the Earth. Individual species came across scientists at a depth of 8 km. Their dimensions can exceed one meter. They feed on small crustaceans, sea worms, oysters, mussels, etc. The most unusual thing about starfish is that they can change their gender. But these creatures have no brain. They are considered bottom orderlies, cleaning it from carrion and other remains of living organisms.

2

The three-toed sloth is the slowest mammal on the planet. The "super-speed" of these animals is legendary. As they say in the notorious cartoon - "speed without limits"! Sloths are the most common mammals in South America. However, they are very difficult to spot as they hide high in the trees. They are covered with thick wool, in which other life is also seething: algae, moths and various other insects. These animals with great difficulty move through the trees, but swim very briskly. The fact that these animals are one of the slowest on the planet can be judged by the fact that sloths walk only 40 m per day.

Great speed is necessary for animals in order to successfully hunt or, on the contrary, save their lives from predators. Some animals can easily accelerate at speeds up to 100 kilometers per hour, while the speed of others does not even reach 1 kilometer per hour. The slowest animals in the world - TOP 10 - look!

These creatures have a certain structure and special environmental conditions that allow animals to do without high speed. For a long time of existence, these creatures were able to develop their own methodology that helps them survive even in the most severe conditions.

The slowest animals in the world - TOP 10

So, this article will talk about the ten slowest creatures on the planet.

The slowest animals in the world - Snail

The slowest creature is the snail. According to scientists, this creature moves on average at a speed of 1.5 millimeters per second, therefore, in a minute a snail can cover a distance of only 6 centimeters. Such a small speed of the snail is associated with its unusual structure.

For a long time, scientists could not understand what function the mucus of snails performs. It turned out that they needed it to move along vertical surfaces. If the snail moves along horizontal surfaces, it also secretes mucus, but does not use it for movement.

three-toed sloth

The slowest animals in the world - Three-toed sloth

Everyone knows that snails are very slow creatures, and besides, they are also small, so it is not surprising that they were in the first place. Surprisingly, the second place went to the sloth, because it is a rather large animal. And, nevertheless, the sloth is able to reach speeds of only 150 meters per hour.

Interestingly, the sloth cannot move on land like other animals - rely on its hind legs. The animal is forced to grab the ground with its claws, and then pull its body up. From the outside, it seems as if the sloth is crawling, not moving, so it is not surprising that its speed is so small.

Turtles

The slowest animals in the world - Turtles

Everyone knows about the slowness of turtles. In fact, these creatures should not be underestimated, because some species of turtles are able to move at a speed of 10-15 kilometers per hour, and in water the numbers can grow up to 25-35 kilometers per hour.

The slowest turtles are huge land and sea turtles, which are second only to snails and sloths in their slowness. Turtles cannot develop high speed because of their huge size and special structure. The maximum speed of giant tortoises is 700-900 meters per hour.

Greenland Shark

The slowest animals in the world - Greenland shark

This type of shark prefers cold waters, and, as you know, the lower the water temperature, the lower the speed of the animals living there. The length of the Greenland shark reaches 6.5 meters, and its weight can reach up to a ton.

Since the shark lives in cold waters, it needs a lot of energy to keep its body warm, so it cannot move quickly. The speed of this dangerous predator is so low that sometimes it seems as if the shark is sleeping on the go. The maximum speed of movement of the Greenland shark is 1.5 kilometers per hour. The shark's diet includes harp seals, which it suddenly attacks in the middle of the night, leaving the victim no chance.

The slowest animals in the world - Field mouse

This small rodent in length reaches only 12 centimeters. Despite the fact that the field mouse is considered very agile, it is not capable of developing great speed. The field mouse runs at a speed of 4-7 kilometers per hour, but this speed is quite enough for her to run away from her enemies, of which she has plenty.

The slowest animals in the world - Mole

This underground animal is familiar to everyone from the cartoon "Thumbelina". The mole has incredibly strong and strong limbs, long claws that help the animal clear the way underground. Moles have very poor eyesight, which they actually don’t need, since animals spend almost their entire lives underground and only occasionally get to the surface. If the mole is unlucky with vision, then his hearing and sense of smell are very well developed. The average speed of movement of moles through their various tunnels is 5-7 kilometers per hour.

Whale shark

World's Slowest Animals - Whale Shark

Another shark was in the ranking of the slowest creatures on the planet. Today, the whale shark is one of the largest fish on earth. In length, the whale shark can grow up to 10 meters, but at such sizes the shark is very slow. The whale shark can accelerate at a speed of only 5 kilometers per hour. This shark does not need high speed, since it feeds on plankton.

virginian opossum

The slowest animals in the world - Virginia opossum

This slow and slightly clumsy animal can only move at a speed of 7 kilometers per hour. Even when the animal is in danger, its speed does not increase at all.

If the opossum is in danger, it acts in its own way: the animal falls to the ground and begins to emit a nasty smell, thus pretending to be dead, as a result of which predators bypass it.

The slowest animals in the world - Snakes

Crawling predators live on all continents of the planet. At the sight of a snake, it begins to seem that it is crawling very quickly, but this is not so. The maximum speed of movement of snakes is 12 kilometers per hour, and in some species of snakes it is even less. A person moves at exactly the same speed when he accelerates his step.

Tasmanian devil

World's Slowest Animals - Tasmanian Devil

The fastest of the ten slowest animals is the Tasmanian devil. This kid does everything very slowly and carefully, thinking through each of his actions. The Tasmanian devil moves at a speed of 13 kilometers per hour, very rarely exceeding it. If someone decides to attack the Tasmanian devil, the animal becomes very aggressive and begins to emit a nasty smell that scares away all enemies.

Sloths are animals from the order of American edentulous, differing from all other animals in the number of cervical vertebrae (6 or 9, in all other mammals - 7). There are three-fingered (ai) and two-fingered (unau). The three-toed sloth (Bradypus tridactylus) moves at only about 2 meters per minute.

Ai, a resident of Brazil, reaches a total length of 52 cm, of which 4 cm fall on the tail. The fur consists of thin, short and dense undercoat hairs and long, hard, rather smooth, hay-like awns when dried. On both sides of the back from the shoulders to the tail area stretches a wide longitudinal strip of brownish color. The rest of the fur is pale reddish-gray, silver-gray on the belly. If the long hair on the back is cut off to the undercoat lying underneath, then the true color of the animal will come out, and then a black-brown longitudinal stripe running along the back and two white stripes on the sides will become visible. All three stripes are sharply defined, however, due to long hair, it is impossible to accurately determine the boundaries of these colors. A wide white stripe runs over the eyes towards the temples. The eyes are surrounded by a black-brown ring, and the same strip extends down from the temples. Nails yellowish or brownish-yellow.

The greenish hue of the sloth's coat is given by the microscopic algae living in it, which creates a good disguise.

Sloths are found only in South America. Large forests in the humid lowlands, where the flora is so diverse, are the main habitat for them. The more deserted and shady the forest, the more it attracts these amazing creatures. Being real tree animals, like a monkey and a squirrel, they, unlike the latter, hardly crawl from branch to branch. The space that light and frisky monkeys freely overcome, perceiving it as a pleasure walk, becomes a long journey for the sloth. Sometimes united in a small family, these lazy creatures lead a boring quiet life and slowly wander from branch to branch. They move very awkwardly on the ground, which cannot be said about their behavior in the trees. Their long arms allow them to grasp branches far, and thanks to their strong claws, they can easily hold on to trees. Sloths climb, however, in a completely different way than all other animals living in trees. Hanging down with their bodies, they stretch out their long arms to the branches, firmly cling to them with their claws and, slowly, move from branch to branch, from bough to bough. However, they seem lazier than they really are.

Being nocturnal animals, sloths spend the whole day without movement, but already at dusk they become more cheerful, and wander at night. They feed exclusively on buds, leaves, young shoots and fruits, and in the abundant dew that they lick from the leaves, they find a sufficient replacement for the water they lack. They, undoubtedly, show lethargy both in obtaining and in taking food. Sloths are undemanding, content with little and are capable of whole days and even weeks, as some eyewitnesses say, to endure hunger and thirst without harm to themselves. To eat normally, they need a very small space. They do not leave the tree as long as it provides them with food; and only when they begin to feel the lack of food, they decide to take a trip. Moving slowly, they find a place where the branches of other trees are connected to the branches of their tree, and along this bridge, clinging to the branches, they move to a neighboring tree. The splendid border of the forest, which stretches along the tropical rivers and extends without interruption deep into the interior of the country, consists mainly of species of trees, the tops of which are intertwined in the most diverse ways and allow sloths to move from place to place without ever touching the ground.

Of great interest is the question: do sloths prefer certain types of trees over others, or are all kinds of trees suitable for them? Yes and no. The fact is that the female sloth feeds the cub only with a few certain types of vegetation and, together with half-chewed leaves, transfers the appropriate microflora to it. Without the microorganisms thus obtained, the sloth is not able to digest food. Other females may feed their offspring with leaves from trees of other species.

With the help of their long forelimbs, sloths attract more distant branches to themselves and tear off leaves and fruits from them with their claws, then bring food to their mouths. They say that in the rainy season they drink a lot of water and for this, according to the Indians, they descend relatively quickly from the trees to get closer to the river and quench their thirst.

On earth, these miserable creatures feel like strangers. When walking, they drag their body with such difficulty that they always arouse compassion in the viewer. The sloth can be compared to a slow land tortoise as it tries to move its clumsy body mass. Spreading its limbs wide, leaning on its elbows and slowly rearranging its paws in wide circular movements, the sloth very quietly moves forward; at the same time, the belly almost touches the ground, and the head and neck slowly sway from side to side and seem to maintain the balance of this extremely helpless animal. The toes during walking rise up, and the claws bend inward; as a result, the paw touches the soil with the outer edge and, moreover, almost exclusively with the flesh of the thumb. It is clear that such a movement must be done slowly. On earth, the sloth is well aware of his helpless position. If you accidentally catch him while he is walking, or put him caught on a level place, then he stretches up his small head on a long neck, slightly raises the front part of the body and slowly, as if mechanically, makes a movement with his paw, as if wanting to grab the enemy with his powerful claws.

Helplessness and slowness give him a peculiar, unhappy look. It is hard to imagine that this creature, waddling in such a miserable way, would be able to escape from the water if it fell into it due to some accident. Meanwhile, the sloth swims tolerably, and moves much faster than when climbing, keeps its head high above the water, cuts through the waves quite easily and really reaches the land. Bethe and Wallace saw how one sloth swam across a river about 300 m wide. It follows from this that the name "sloth", however correct in essence, refers, however, only to the movements of this animal when walking. In the trees, his movements are not at all as slow as previously thought. Remarkable is the amazing accuracy with which he performs movements when climbing. The sloth is able to hang, clinging to a branch with just one paw. Nevertheless, the sloth always tries to find reliable points of support for all four limbs and is almost afraid to take one of the paws away from the support before finding another point of attachment for it.

It is extremely difficult to tear a sloth away from a branch that it has clung to. During sleep and rest, the sloth assumes its usual hanging posture. He puts all four paws one near the other, arches his body almost spherically and tilts his head to his chest, but does not lean it against his body. In this position, the sloth hangs all day in one place without getting tired. Only in exceptional cases does he try to grab a higher branch with his front paws, lift the front part of the body and lean his back against another branch. As much as this animal is insensitive to hunger and thirst, so it turns out to be sensitive to dampness and the coolness associated with it. In the lightest rain, he tries as quickly as possible to take cover under a thick canopy of leaves and even makes desperate efforts at this time that do not correspond to his nickname.

It is extremely rare, usually in the evening or early in the morning, or when the sloth is alarmed, that his voice can be heard. It is not loud and consists of plaintive, long, high, short and sharp sounds; some observers convey it with the oft-repeated "and" sound. However, modern scientists have never heard the sloth make the "ai" sound, from which the animal's French name is derived. During the day, you can only hear the deep sighs of a sloth; on the ground, he does not scream, even if he is teased.

His eyes are weak and inexpressive, like no other mammal. The fact that he has far from excellent hearing can already be judged by the insignificant size and hidden position of the auricles. His undeveloped sense of touch is also known. With regard to the sense of smell, it is difficult to say anything definite, and only taste can be considered to some extent developed. The mental faculties of sloths are also on the lowest rung. These animals are not intelligent, they are stupid, stupid and indifferent. Sloths are called harmless, but in fact they are simply not capable of spiritual manifestations. They, as travelers say, do not have strong impulses of passion, they do not know fear, but they do not have courage either, and, apparently, they experience neither joy nor sadness. Perhaps these messages are not entirely correct. What most observers tend to forget is that sloths are nocturnal animals whose abilities cannot be judged based on observations made during the day. The name "sloth" refers more to the sleeping animal; while awake it moves slowly, but not at all lazily. However, it cannot be said that the sloth does not at all understand the environment and the conditions prevailing in it, that he does not show love, hatred, does not show friendship towards his own kind or enmity towards other animals, so that he is not able to adapt to changed circumstances.

Sloths give birth to one cub. He comes into the world completely covered with hair and even already with significantly developed fingers and claws, and immediately after birth, these claws cling to the mother's long hair, wrapping his paws around her neck. The mother carries it around with her in this way. At first, she seems to treat the cub with great tenderness, but motherly love soon cools down, and the female no longer takes care of him, does not feed or clean him. She indifferently allows him to be torn from her chest and only for a short time reveals the anxiety that she has lost something important. The female recognizes her offspring only when it touches her or she touches him. She doesn't seem to hear his scream. It often happens that the female goes hungry for two days, or at least does not care about food. Despite this, she continuously nurses her young, which clings to her as tightly as she clings to a tree branch. Travelers report all this, perhaps passing on the stories of the Indians, but how true this is is a big question.

It cannot be said that these helpless creatures had many ill-wishers. Thanks to life on trees, they avoid the most dangerous enemies for them - predatory mammals. In addition, their fur is, in general, quite similar in color to the branches on which they hang motionlessly, like fruits on a tree, so that the familiar hawk-eye of an Indian is needed to find a sleeping sloth. However, these animals are not so unarmed as it might seem at first glance. On a tree, it is naturally difficult to reach them, and if sloths are taken by surprise on the ground and try to catch them, they quickly roll over onto their backs and grab the attacker with their claws; the strength of their hands, in any case, is very significant. It is difficult even for a strong person to free himself from a sloth that has embraced him, or to tear this animal from the branch of a tree to which it has clung. If you do not unhook one paw after another and do not hold them, then this will not succeed at all.

In some areas, Indians and Negroes eat sloth meat, the smell and taste of which are unpleasant to Europeans. From the very tough, strong and durable skin of these animals, tires for saddles and bags are made. These animals cannot cause harm. They are also on the list of animals approaching final extermination. Sloths can live only in the most remote forests, and as long as the ax of the European penetrating further and further still spares the majestic trees that provide them with shelter and food, until then they will enjoy life.

We should not be surprised that many beliefs and fairy tales circulated about these strange animals. The first stories about them belong to Oviedo, who says something like this: “Perico ligero is the laziest animal that can be seen in the world. He is so clumsy and slow that it takes him a whole day to walk only 50 steps. The first Christians who saw them gave the sloths a joking name - nimble dogs. This is one of the most amazing animals. An adult animal is two spans long and slightly less thick. It has four thin legs, the toes of which are fused together, like those of birds. Neither the claws nor the paws are designed so that they can support a heavy body, and therefore the belly almost drags along the ground. The neck is stretched straight up, the same thickness as the pestle of a mortar; the head is almost indistinguishable from it, the face is round, like the face of an owl and surrounded by hair, so that it is only a little longer than it is wide, the eyes are small and round, the nostrils are like those of monkeys, the mouth is small.

The sloth moves its neck first to one side, then to the other, as if surprised by something. His only desire and pleasure is to hang himself from trees, or from anything where he can climb; and therefore he is often seen in the trees, over which he slowly climbs. His voice is very different from the voices of other animals. The sloth always sings only at night, making six sounds from time to time each time, quieter and quieter: la, la, salt, fa, mi, re, do. Then he screams six times - ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Having sung, he waits for a while and repeats the same again. I consider it a nocturnal animal. Sometimes Christians catch a sloth and bring it home, where, as usual, it crawls slowly, and it cannot be forced to move faster by threats or pushes. If an animal finds a tree, it immediately climbs onto the highest branches and stays there for 10, 12, and even 20 days; what it eats is unknown. I kept it at home, and from my observation, it must be powered by air. Many other observers are of the same opinion, since no one has seen a sloth eat anything. He mostly turns his head and mouth in the direction the wind is blowing; hence it follows that the air must be very pleasant to him. The sloth does not bite, and cannot bite, since its mouth is very small; it is also not poisonous. In general, I have never met before such a stupid and useless animal as he.

Much of what the narrator says is quite true. Exaggerations occur later, for example in Stedman. He says that it takes two days for a sloth to reach the top of a medium-sized tree, and that he does not leave the tree until he finds some food on it. On the way up the sloth seems to eat as much as he needs to make his journey, but when he gets to the top, he completely eats it. He does this so as not to starve to death when he returns to the lower branches in search of another tree. If a sloth were to eat the lower part of the top, it would naturally have to die from the difficulty of traveling to other trees. Some also say that the sloth curls up and falls from the tree, as if to save himself the trouble of moving his limbs.