Manuel Antonio National Park and Curu Wildlife Refuge
On our last day, we visited one of the jewels of the Costa Rican National Parks. Manuel Antonio National Park is one of the most visited areas in the country because it offers a large array of activities as well as being almost surreal for spotting wildlife. We lived one of these “magical surrealism” moments this morning. Our naturalists had a hard time convincing most people that IT IS DIFFICULT TO SPOT A SLOTH after spotting fourteen of them!
Sloths, anteaters and armadillos belong to the same bizarre order Xenarthra, found mostly in Central and South America. This name refers to the presence of unusually shaped vertebrae in the lower back that are not present in any other mammal. Sloths are folivores or leaf-eating-animals. They lack incisors and canines, but have a set of grinding teeth for grinding vegetation, and canine-like premolars that can be used in defense. Like other species of folivores, sloths break down cellulose through a process of fermentation in a compartmentalized stomach that can take weeks to ferment a meal. Other problems come with having a leaf diet, such as a low-energy, slow-to-digest food requires a very large stomach, yet they must be light enough to move along tree branches. They compensate for their large and heavy gut by having relatively little muscle.
Two other interesting features of sloths are their hair and neck structure. While almost all other mammals have seven neck vertebrae, sloths have eight or nine depending on the species, which allows them to rotate their heads an impressive 180º, a skill valued by hammock users! On the other hand, their hair seems to serve them for more than one purpose. Each hair on a sloth has got either protrusions, corrugations or cracks which harbor algae, in this way these two organisms share a mutualistic relationship in which the algae gains shelter and the sloth camouflage. The green tinge that the algae gives the sloth makes them even more difficult to see than they would be otherwise. And why so much hair on a tropical animal? Believe it or not, due to their slow metabolism, lack of body mass and low energy, sloths have died of hypothermia when confronted with a cold spell that lasts too long.
If they weren’t wild animals, sloths would make the perfect pet. Can you imagine a pet that goes to the bathroom only once a week!?!
On our last day, we visited one of the jewels of the Costa Rican National Parks. Manuel Antonio National Park is one of the most visited areas in the country because it offers a large array of activities as well as being almost surreal for spotting wildlife. We lived one of these “magical surrealism” moments this morning. Our naturalists had a hard time convincing most people that IT IS DIFFICULT TO SPOT A SLOTH after spotting fourteen of them!
Sloths, anteaters and armadillos belong to the same bizarre order Xenarthra, found mostly in Central and South America. This name refers to the presence of unusually shaped vertebrae in the lower back that are not present in any other mammal. Sloths are folivores or leaf-eating-animals. They lack incisors and canines, but have a set of grinding teeth for grinding vegetation, and canine-like premolars that can be used in defense. Like other species of folivores, sloths break down cellulose through a process of fermentation in a compartmentalized stomach that can take weeks to ferment a meal. Other problems come with having a leaf diet, such as a low-energy, slow-to-digest food requires a very large stomach, yet they must be light enough to move along tree branches. They compensate for their large and heavy gut by having relatively little muscle.
Two other interesting features of sloths are their hair and neck structure. While almost all other mammals have seven neck vertebrae, sloths have eight or nine depending on the species, which allows them to rotate their heads an impressive 180º, a skill valued by hammock users! On the other hand, their hair seems to serve them for more than one purpose. Each hair on a sloth has got either protrusions, corrugations or cracks which harbor algae, in this way these two organisms share a mutualistic relationship in which the algae gains shelter and the sloth camouflage. The green tinge that the algae gives the sloth makes them even more difficult to see than they would be otherwise. And why so much hair on a tropical animal? Believe it or not, due to their slow metabolism, lack of body mass and low energy, sloths have died of hypothermia when confronted with a cold spell that lasts too long.
If they weren’t wild animals, sloths would make the perfect pet. Can you imagine a pet that goes to the bathroom only once a week!?!
