Slow and Fuzzy

In honor of International Sloth Day I’ve decided to talk about, well, sloths!

More specifically the pygmy three-toed sloth. Because if you ever have a choice of pygmy, you should take it.

 

In general, sloths are classified into two main types: two-toed and three-toed. Pygmy three toed-sloths share that category with mane , pale-throated, and brown-throated sloths. Very descriptive names. While they may look more like monkeys, they are actually most closely related to armadillos and anteaters. Pygmy three-toed sloths grow to about 5-7 lbs in weight and about 20 inches long.

As everyone knows, sloths move slowly. They live in trees and for the most part stay there usually moving only about 40 yards a day. However, if threatened they can actually move pretty quick but it seriously depletes their system. They have an incredibly low metabolism that is the reason for their low body temperature of below 90F and slow movement. Oddly enough, they are pretty quick swimmers and sometimes drop from the trees directly into the water and can cover significantly more area. Pygmy sloths have a multi-chambered stomach that can also assist floating.

Sloths are in the most danger when on the ground. They do not move well there. Luckily, they don’t have to go down all that often, only leaving the trees to urinate and defecate and they only need to do that about once a week. I don’t think I’d want to be present for that weekly appointment.

As sloths spend most of their time hanging upside-down, their internal organs are actually arranged to handle this and not get squished, which is another reason why they don’t do well on the ground. So they are made to be upside down instead of right side up. Silly sloths.

One of my favorite things about them is that their thick fur grows it’s own algae in a (thought to be) symbiotic relationship. Look at that green fuzz. (Note: that is not a pygmy, but you get the point)

Now, sloths live in the tropical rain forests of Central and South America. However, pygmy three-toed sloths only live on a small island off the coat of Panama: La Isla Escudo de Veraguas, It is uninhabited, but has seasonal inhabitants that sometimes hunt the sloths and the island mangroves are also logged. Loss of habitat is the main contributor to the status of Critically Endangered for these sweet, slow animals. It is estimated that there are less that 50 pygmy sloths left in the wild.

If you’d like to do something for these gentle creatures, here are a couple of sites where you can learn more:

https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/sloth

https://www.edgeofexistence.org/projects/saving-pygmy-sloth-extinction/

Here’s some bonus pictures of when I went to visit a sloth sanctuary in Oregon. Here I learned that sloths are almost blind, which is another reason to move slowly since they can’t really see where they’re going. They get stressed very easily, which is why you should never get a sloth as a pet because when they get stressed they die. And I learned that they are the best.

 

The Armored Mammal

Today I’m heading back out of the water and moving to the African and Asian continents to talk about THE COOLEST little mammals: Pangolins.

Now there are two main groupings of pangolin species, the African and the Asian pangolins. Each of these have four different species and they are actually most closely related to cats, dogs, and bears. Depending on the species, they can range from about 3-70 lbs in weight and 45 inches to 4.5 feet in length. Quite the range.

Let’s talk about those awesome scales and that fantastic tongue.

The scales are actually made up of keratin. The same stuff that makes your hair and nails. But if you get your finger stuck between them and they curl up, it can shred your flesh. The Asian species also have bristles that grow up between the scales. The bottom of the animal does not have scales, but sparse fur.

The tongue is an extremely mobile, sticky, and long. It can be the same length as the body and head together. The tongue is also attached to the base of the ribs (what??) and when it retracts it goes into a sheath in it’s chest cavity.

In general, pangolins are solitary creatures and only come together to breed. Females tend to raise their young on their own, but sometimes the males stay behind until the young are independent. Babies are born with soft scales but they begin to harden at only two days old.

Sadly, all of the African species are listed as vulnerable, and all Asian species are either endangered or critically endangered. They have become known as the world’s most trafficked mammal. Their meat is a delicacy in many Asian countries and their scales are thought to have almost magical healing properties, none of which are actually true. Thankfully they have gotten a lot of press in the past few years, and several laws have gone into effect protecting them against illegal trade. Nevertheless, they are in danger and this incredible creature could soon be extinct throughout Asia.

Here are some great sites if you’d like to learn more or donate to protecting these unique mammals:

https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/pangolin

https://www.awf.org/wildlife-conservation/pangolin

https://www.savepangolins.org/pangolin-crisis-fund

Water Puppies

Happy World Animal Day!

Today is a day to celebrate all animals and how amazing they are. Originally it started as a way to bring awareness to endangered species and has evolved to simply celebrate animals in general.

In honor of World Animal Day I want to talk about a lovely mammal called the Ringed Seal.

Look at that cute little face!

So, ringed seals are some of the most abundant of the arctic seals and are part of the Phocidae family. They live in the Northern Hemisphere in the subpolar oceans. They live around the outer ring of the ice, but can move further in by burrowing breathing holes in the ice with the claws at the end of their flippers. They are some of the only creatures that can burrow through that thick of ice, and sometimes get kicked out of those breathing holes by whales and other marine animals. Polar bears also hunt them in these tubes, so they blow bubbles to the surface before they emerge to check that they aren’t there.

Ringed seals are the smallest of the arctic seals. But that still means they can reach 5 feet in length and over 270 pounds. Not particularly small in my opinion.

They are fairly solitary, basically only coming together on the ice to breed. They only have one pup (see! Water dog.) at a time and the mother keeps them protected in snow lairs.

Look at that cutie!

As far as animals living in the arctic, the ringed seal is doing pretty well but is still listed as threatened. Climate change and the shrinking of the polar ice caps gives them less stable land on which to rest, breed, and have their pups. Ocean pollution is also impacting them as well as hunting.

On World Animal Day, and really all of the days, please think about the impact of your choices and what you can do to support your fellow creatures!

Here’s one last picture of these guys, because I can’t get enough.