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Version 0 Version 1
In praise of … the three-toed sloth In praise of … the three-toed sloth
(about 20 hours later)
Sloth is so often used as an abusive term for idleness that it is easy to overlook the anthropomorphic charm of the sloth face. Now it emerges there is even more to these rainforest-dwelling Americans than cute features. Take new research into the habits of the three-toed sloth, not on any account to be confused with its very distant relation, the two-toed sloth. In order to support an almost totally immobile lifestyle, the Bradypus family appears to have evolved a personal ecosystem. Scientists believe it ingests an algae that lives within grooves on individual hairs in its fur. The algae is fertilised by a moth which also lives cosily next to the skin. The more moths, the more nitrogen, the more algae and the better-fed the sloth. That explains one last puzzle of the sloth way of living – the weekly dice with death when they come down from the tree for a poo. It's to make a home for moth eggs. Good for the moths, though all too often not for the sloth. Sloth is so often used as an abusive term for idleness that it is easy to overlook the anthropomorphic charm of the sloth face. Now it emerges there is even more to these rainforest-dwelling Americans than cute features. Take new research into the habits of the three-toed sloth, not on any account to be confused with its very distant relation, the two-toed sloth. In order to support an almost totally immobile lifestyle, the Bradypus family appears to have evolved a personal ecosystem. Scientists believe it ingests algae that live within grooves on individual hairs in its fur. The algae are fertilised by a moth which also lives cosily next to the skin. The more moths, the more nitrogen, the more algae and the better-fed the sloth. That explains one last puzzle of the sloth way of living – the weekly dice with death when they come down from the tree for a poo. It's to make a home for moth eggs. Good for the moths, though all too often not for the sloth.
• This article was amended on 10 April 2014. The earlier version said "it ingests an algae that lives … The algae is fertilised…"