384 



THE TOOTHLESS ANIMALS. 



They do not leave a tree as long as it affords them 

 nourishment; only when the supply of food which 

 it furnishes has been exhausted do they think of mi- 

 grating. Slowly they descend to the lower branches, 

 seek a point at which the branches of some neigh- 

 boring tree interlocks with that upon which they are 

 hanging, and then, clinging with their hooked claws, 

 pass over on this aerial bridge. 

 Movements and On the ground these miserable na- 

 Peculiarities tives of the trees are bewildered. 

 of Sloths. Their gait consists of such a painful 

 dragging along of the body as to invariably excite 

 the spectator's pity. In a like manner with the 

 slow Tortoise, the Sloth tries to propel its clumsy 

 bulk. With sprawling limbs, supporting itself on 

 its elbows, slowly describing with its legs segments 

 of a circle, it very gradually pushes itself onward; 

 the abdomen nearly touches the ground, and its 

 head and neck constantly and slowly move from one 

 side to the other, as if their function were to pre- 

 serve the balance of this extremely awkward ani- 

 mal. One would not readily believe this creature, 

 which reels along so miserably, capable of saving 

 itself if by any mischance it fell into the water. The 

 Sloth swims tolerably well, however, moving with 

 even greater speed than in climbing, holding its head 

 high above the surface, breasting the waves with ease 

 and readily regaining the shore. Bates and Wal- 

 lace saw a Sloth crossing a river at a place where it 

 was about nine hundred feet wide. This tends to 

 show that the appellation "Sloth," pertinent as it 

 may have been in its original sense of mere slowness 

 of action, really can justly refer only to the move- 

 ments of this animal when attempting to walk on 

 the ground; for on the trees its laziness, as before 

 stated, does not impress the observer as being so 

 great as one would be likely to believe, judging 

 by the exaggerated accounts of those who first 

 described the animal. The admirable security and 

 certainty with which it climbs is worthy of notice. 

 The Sloth is capable of hooking on to a bough by 

 one foot and remaining suspended from it, not only 

 letting the full weight of the body be borne by the 

 one foot, but also lifting itself up by it. 



It is exceedingly difficult to loosen the hold of 

 a Sloth from a branch. While sleeping and resting 

 the animal assumes a position similar to the one or- 

 dinarily taken. It puts its four legs close together, 

 curls itself into a nearly spherical ball-shape, and 

 lets its head sink forward over its breast, without let- 

 ting it rest there, however, or supporting it. In this 

 position it hangs on, always in the same place, during 

 the day, without tiring itself. 



Insusceptible as the animal seems to be to hunger 

 and thirst, it is very sensitive to moisture and the re- 

 sultant sensation of cold. During the rainy season 

 it often hangs in the same place for days, droop- 

 ing and miserable, obviously greatly annoyed by the 

 downpouring water. 



\ ery rarely, usually only in the evening or at the 

 dawn of day, or when the Sloth is alarmed, does one 

 hear its cry. The cry is not loud, and consists of a 

 plaintive, long-drawn, short and shrill sound, which 

 is rendered by some as the frequent repetition of the 

 sound of long "a" in English. Modern observers 

 have never heard the Sloth utter sounds resembling 

 diphthongs, or consisting, as former observers have 

 affirmed, of ascending or descending tones of the 

 scale. The nearest approach to vocal utterance one 

 may hear from a Sloth during the day is a deep sigh 

 frequently repeated; on the ground it does not cry. 



The Mother Only a single young Sloth appears 

 Sloth and a t a birth. It comes into the world 

 Young. completely covered with hair and 



even its claws and toes are fairly well developed; 

 immediately after birth it fastens itself to the long 

 hair of the mother by its claws, clamping her neck 

 with its forelegs. The mother then carries it about 

 everywhere in this position. At first it would appear 

 as if she regarded her progeny with great tenderness; 

 but the maternal love apparently soon subsides, and 

 then the dull-witted creature barely takes the pains 

 to nourish her infant, cleaning it or attending to the 

 sundry other duties of a nurse. 



The indisposition to action of the Sloths is also 

 seen when they are ill-treated or wounded. It has 

 been sufficiently demonstrated that the lowest ani- 

 mals can endure proportionately the greatest ill- 

 treatment, injuries or pain; the Sloths also seem to 

 prove this general rule. The remarkable tenacity of 

 life in these creatures cannot be denied. They bear 

 severe injuries with the indifference of a corpse. 

 Frequently they do not even alter their position after 

 receiving a full charge of shot into the body. Schom- 

 burgk says that they are the creatures which are 

 also able to longest withstand the terrible Woorari 

 poison, with which the Indians charge the barbs of 

 the darts from their blow-guns, used in hunting. 



The Sloths Not One cannot say that these helpless 

 Much Persecuted animals have many enemies. Their 

 by Enemies. arboreal life puts them out of the 

 reach of the worst beasts of prey, which are always 

 to be found among the mammalia. Then their fur is 

 so similar in coloring to the branches from which 

 they are suspended, immovable like an excrescence 

 on a limb or the fruit on a tree, that the experienced 

 falcon eye of an Indian is needed to discover a sleep- 

 ing Sloth. Besides, the animals are not quite so de- 

 fenseless as would seem at a first glance. They are 

 difficult to overcome on the tree and if they are 

 taken by surprise and attacked on the ground, they 

 throw themselves on their backs with sufficient read- 

 iness and seize their assailant with their claws; the 

 strength of their limbs is certainly considerable. It 

 is difficult for even a strong man to free himself 

 from the clasp of the animal or to tear it from the 

 bough to which it clings; if the would-be captor does 

 not unhook one foot after another and hold it firmly 

 to prevent the animal from regaining its hold, it is 

 impossible to succeed in the latter undertaking. 

 The Sloth in Cap- Up to a comparatively recent date 

 tiuity, an Inter- little was known about the life of 



esting Animal. Sloths in confinement. Buffon re- 

 lates that the Marquis of Montmirail bought a Sloth 

 in Amsterdam, which had been kept on tender foli- 

 age in summer and ship's biscuit in winter. Trav- 

 elers tell us that one can hardly imagine a more 

 inane and insipid creature than a captive Sloth. 

 My joy at finding a living Sloth in Amsterdam will 

 be easily understood, as it gave me the opportunity 

 of personally observing the habits of the animal. 

 Later on I succeeded in obtaining several Sloths 

 and in completing ray observations. I am not bold 

 enough to affirm that my deductions apply also to 

 the life of the beast in the free state ; but I mean to 

 say, that Sloths are not altogether contemptible and 

 tiresome, but interesting and in many respects wor- 

 thy members of a collection of animals. 



" Kees" (that was the name of the Amsterdam 

 Sloth) had been an inmate of his cage for nine years 

 and certainly exhibited as much contentment in cap- 

 tivity as any other animal. Whoever has kept mam- 



