Sloths endearing as we cheer underdogs
Sloths are a popular animal at the moment. From film and television to T-shirts and stationery, we can find them everywhere. Their popularity is mostly due to social media trends. Sloths began trending online around 2012 as celebrities filmed encounters with them, followed by videos reposted on YouTube, Instagram, and other social media platforms.
Today, there are several channels on these platforms devoted to sharing sloth pictures, videos, and memes.
Google Trends also reveals the search term “sloth” skyrocketed during the 2010s and is still a popular term globally.
So why did sloths capture our hearts?
First, we love something cute, and a furry creature with what appears to be a permanent smile certainly fits that category. There are six species of sloths, each growing to a cuddly 60-80cm tall and weighing 3.6-7.7kg.
The two two-toed sloth species are slightly larger and spend more time hanging upside-down, while four three-toed sloth species prefer sitting in forked branches.
Sloths are covered with shaggy fur and resemble a monkey but are actually related to the armadillo and anteater. They have a dense undercoat of short black fur to keep warm, and a longer outercoat of brown fur to help with camouflage.
Three-toed sloths have facial markings which make them look like they are smiling.
Another reason we love them is because we have a weakness for underdogs. These creatures have a lot stacked against them. Sloths have poor eyesight and hearing, and therefore few defence mechanisms. Their thick skin helps to prevent damage from attack but aside from a highpitched shriek they rely on their claws and bite to defend themselves.
Sloths are famously slow, only travelling around 36 metres a day.
They are so slow moss and algae grow on their fur, but these additions double as camouflage while in the treetops.
Movement depletes their energy and mothers will often not even spend their precious calories to collect an infant that has fallen to the rainforest floor.
Sloth metabolism is so slow they only defecate once a week. This is usually the only time they will leave the canopy as the only way they can move on the ground is by dragging themselves with their claws, leaving them open to attack. They are, however, incredible swimmers if they should fall in water.
We also love something that’s good for the environment. As well as being an important part of the tropical rainforest ecosystem, sloth fur is home to its own ecological community of beetles, worms and other bugs that eat the algae collecting on it.
Sloths were not always viewed with such affection. Spanish colonist Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Vlades (1478-1557) made the first written record of sloths. He declared sloths were “the stupidest animal that can be found in the world”, and that he had “never seen such an ugly animal or one that is more useless”.
It is lucky these animals are a fixture on social media, as studies have proven that popular animals receive more money for conservation efforts.
The sloth is the national animal of Costa Rica, which has a sanctuary and orphanage helping in the fight to save the species we can’t get enough of.
Sandi Black
Whanganui district election quiz Compiled by David Scoullar .. ..
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■ 1. Why was the grandfather of Whanganui’s National candidate, Carl Bates, known as the Magic Man?
■ 2. Who has been the only Labour MP in the 161-year history of the Rangitīkei electorate?
■ 3. Bruce Beetham held the Rangitīkei seat for one term representing which party?
■ 4. Labour’s George Spooner won the Whanganui seat in 1960 and served three terms before being defeated in 1969 by whom?
■ 5. The late Chester Borrows, who held the Whanganui seat for National from 2005-17, had earlier pursued what career?
■ 6. Who are two former MPs Chester Borrows was related to?
■ 7. Whanganui MP Steph Lewis showcased what domestic skill at
the Winter Wonderfest in August?
■ 8. What do the three Whanganui MPs William Fox, Julius Vogel, and John Ballance have in common?
■ 9. How many times was Hamish McDouall the unsuccessful candidate for Labour in Whanganui?
■ 10. Who was the longest-serving MP for Whanganui?