Sloth bears, also known as folivores, are animals that live in tropical environments. There are currently two genera, the two-toed sloths and the three-toed sloths, however it is known that there were more than 50 genera that are now extinct.
Although they have visual similarities with primates, they do not share any ties with primates. Instead, they are related to anteaters and more distantly to armadillos. They owe their name to the way and speed in which they move.
Read on to find out Why the sloth is so slow:
Why are sloths so slow?
The main reason why these animals are so slow is to be able to go unnoticed With this they avoid their natural predators, such as eagles and jaguars that would otherwise easily find them. If they were only a little slow they would be easy prey to detect and hunt, however, due to their extreme slowness they are almost impossible to detect.
Eagles, for example, hunt and wreak havoc on monkey populations, while sloth bears do not. They have managed to achieve this since they feed on a resource that is everywhere, more specifically, in all trees, the leaves. If instead they had to move in order to get their food, they would not move as slowly as they do.
Also, feeding on leaves is another reason why these animals are so slow. The leaves provide little nutrients and energy, so they can't expend too much energy if they only feed on them.
The metabolism and diet of the sloth bear
As we mentioned before, the sloth bases its diet on leaves, which forces it to have a metabolism very slow Its stomach is divided into several compartments, where the symbiotic microorganisms ferment the food and make the most of the cellulose in the leaves. These compartments separate and facilitate the absorption of food.
The food of sloths has a lot of fiber, as well as toxic components that the plant produces to defend itself from animals. All this makes food difficult to digest, so the digestive process can take up to a month in these animals.
The sloth bear comes down from the trees every 5 or 7 days to defecate. When they reach the ground, they open a hole in it where they deposit their excrement, to later cover it up again. With this they repay the food consumed, providing nutrients to the tree and spreading its seed.
Sloth Bear Trivia
There are different curiosities in the behavior of the sloth bear, related to the slow metabolism they have, you can read them right away:
