Why are sloths so slow?
The first impression of the sloth as an animal is slow, and the sloth does move slowly, but there are many other creatures that can only move slowly throughout their lives. How do slow-moving animals live? What's the reason behind this?
Let's start with the sloth, the slowest-moving mammal in the world, with a top speed of only 1.6 kilometers per hour. Its English name, Sloth, also means lazy or lazy. The length of their bodies is about 41-74 cm. The limbs are longer and the forelimbs are more developed than the hindlimbs. They have long claws that are used to hook branches and hang on them.
Sloths have a very slow metabolism, so they must move in a planned way. to save energy consumption. They can't even regulate their body temperature, which also affects digestion. They hang from trees for most of their lives. They ate and slept while hanging from trees. Staple foods are leaves and young shoots. They spend an average of half a month digesting the food they eat. When the temperature is higher, the digestion rate is slightly faster, so they can consume more food than usual during this time.
They move slowly and are also easy to hide themselves. The sloth's fur is covered with algae, which allows it to be well hidden in the forest. So in summary, the reason sloths move slowly is to save energy and not to be easily detected. In the long run, the sloth's own muscle content has also been greatly reduced, leaving only one-third of the same body shape of animals, which has also made them move slowly.
There are also slow-moving animals that cannot escape predators and often use tactics to make their bodies difficult or even tasty. For example, turtles and snails. Turtles are the most common slow-moving animals, and they have a shell that blends in with their bodies. While protecting themselves is very effective, these structures do not allow them to move quickly. Mollusks, such as slugs and snails, have been living on Earth for 550 million years. They can only move very slowly.
Taken together, these animals move slowly for better survival. At the same time, they continue to evolve.