Sloth

Dear Reader,

I began this post yesterday, when it should have been published. It didn't feel right, and it was hard to see where I was going with it. So I slept on it, (not literally, that would be silly.) Next morning I began to see what the problem was. I wasn't happy with the word. Seventies (the decade, not the age group) would have been the subject, but, it didn't feel right. Today I came up with something much better, let the sloth begin!

Starting with the sin, sloth, which is a bad one, apparently. Along with lust, gluttony, greed, wrath, envy and pride it is classed in certain religious circles as deadly. I imagine posting Saturday's post on a Sunday could be considered slothful so that's me sunk. Looking at the list I could see all of those happening in an average weekend, with the exception of wrath. I try to keep my wrath in check. Regular readers of this blog will note that I don't always succeed.

There is another type of sloth who isn't deadly and certainly isn't a sin. These sloths (two or three-toed) are residents of Central and South America jungles. They eat leaves and move very slowly. There are reasons for this which I will explain. 

I like it this way up.

Sloths are in fact specially adapted to be lazy. Leaves are tough and difficult to digest. When a leaf is swallowed by a sloth, it may not complete the journey through the sloth digestion system for twenty days. Leaves do not provide much energy, to cope with this sloths have a low metabolic rate and like to keep their core body temperature down. One of the tricks to achieving this is being lazy. Don't move too much, and when you do move, move slowly.

Sloths have adapted significantly and as a result have become one of the more successful animals that inhabit the rainforests. It would appear that being slothful is not that deadly after all.

Not only are sloths well adapted, they are also YouTube superstars, courtesy of the only sloth sanctuary in the world, Aviarios Del Caribe, located in Costa Rica.

   

I so need to get a job at this place, but the waiting list for employment is very long. You can see why.

Sloths can cross the road all on their own, but they are slow, so sometimes a little help is required. 

Actress Kirstin Bell LOVES sloths. Apparently an emotional character at the best of times, the thought of meeting a sloth for the first time proved a little too much. 

That's enough sloths I think, until tomorrow, Dear Reader, when I shall be tantalised by the letter T. 

xx