Berjari Dua dan Tiga
Sloth memiliki dua spesies berbeda yang dapat dilihat dari jumlah jarinya. Penampilan kedua spesies ini sangat mirip, dengan kepala bulat, mata yang tampak sedih, telinga kecil, dan ekor yang gemuk.
Sloth berjari dua memiliki ukuran yang relatif lebih besar. Mereka menghabiskan banyak waktu untuk bergantungan terbalik. Sedangkan sloth berjari tiga memiliki wajah yang terlihat selalu tersenyum. Mereka lebih sering menghabiskan waktunya dengan duduk tegak di cabang dahan pohon.
Where do Sloth Bears Live?
Sloth Bears thrive in the Indian subcontinent’s diverse environments like dry forests, grasslands, wet forests, and mountains. They favor rocky outcrops and caves for daytime shelter. The tropical climate in these regions is marked by high temperatures and substantial rainfall, fostering a biodiverse environment.
Sloths, on the other hand, are found in the rainforests of Central and South America. Preferring a life high up in the trees where they hang using their strong claws. Sloths consider the forest canopy their primary home. They flourish in humid environments and rely on a diverse array of leaves as their main source of food.
Surprisingly, both sloth bears and sloths typically lead solitary lives. Sloth bears may be spotted in groups during times of abundant resources, and occasionally, groups of female sloths share the same tree.
Berikut fakta lain dari sloth dirangkum dari berbagai sumber:
Conservation Status of Sloths and Sloth Bears
IUCN is the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Under their Red List of Threatened Species, sloth bears are listed as vulnerable as of 2016 during their last assessment. Their population is decreasing, with an estimated of fewer than 20,000 individuals spread across the Indian subcontinent.
Some sloth species are in a similar situation; IUCN has the Maned Sloth listed as vulnerable with the population decreasing. Pygmy Sloths are listed as critically endangered, with a population size of around 2,000-2,500 individuals.
The Brown-Throated Sloth is listed as Least Concern, though there is evidence indicating the population is decreasing as well; for this reason, it is urgent to determine the species’ population trends.
Sloth bones and claws
All four species of ground sloth had very large claws and small, blunt teeth. They all were herbivores and probably used the teeth for browsing on trees and shrubs. The shape of their hip bones indicates that they could stand up on their hind legs. This would allow them to reach high up into trees for the best leaves and twigs.
The bone on the left is the finger bone (phalanx) that supports the claw on the thumb of a Jefferson's ground sloth. The specimen on the right is a tooth, also from a Jefferson's ground sloth.
Both of these specimens were recovered from Heinze Cave, Jefferson County, Missouri. Radiocarbon dating indicates that both specimens are more than 40,000 years old.
All four species of ground sloth became extinct in North America approximately 10,000 years ago. The reason for their extinction is being studied by paleontologists.
Metabolisme Rendah
Sloth bisa mencerna makanannya yang hanya sehelai daun selama 30 hari. Sloth memiliki tingkat metabolisme yang lemah dibandingkan mamalia lainnya. Perut yang terdapat empat bilik sudah penuh secara permanen, yang bahkan bisa mencapai 30 persen massa tubuh mereka.
What can we do to protect both species?
These extraordinary creatures’ continued existence hinges significantly on our actions today. This involves adopting more sustainable farming practices and endorsing conservation initiatives that safeguard the natural habitats of these animals from further degradation.
You can support organizations working with this species, like Wildlife SOS, founded in 1995; it has a strong track record in India for rescuing wildlife in distress, including sloth bears, elephants, leopards, and others. Free the Bears is an organization that works to rescue and rehabilitate bears in various Asian countries.
Four species of ground sloths inhabited the United States at the end of the last Ice Age. These were Jefferson's ground sloth (Megalonyx jeffersonii), Laurillard's ground sloth (Eremotherium laurillardi), the Shasta ground sloth (Nothrotheriops shastensis), and Harlan's ground sloth (Glossotherium harlani). Of these four only two, Jefferson's and Harlan's ground sloths, are found in the midwestern U.S.
Ground sloths were large relatives of the modern two-toed sloths (Choloepus spp.) and three-toed sloths (Bradypus spp.). Unlike modern sloths, which spend most of their time in trees, the ground sloths spent all of their time on the ground. This is fortunate because Jefferson's and Harlan's ground sloth were each about the size of an oxen.
All four species of ground sloth had very large claws. However, all were herbivores. They had relatively small, blunt teeth, which they probably used for browsing on trees and shrubs. The shape of their hip bones indicates that they could stand up on their hind legs. This would allow them to reach high up into trees for the best leaves and twigs.
The picture above shows a reconstruction of Jefferson's ground sloth from the University of Iowa Museum of Natural History.
What is a sloth bear?
A Sloth bear is a type of bear species native to India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan. Known for its long snout and long lower lip used for sucking up insects, it’s officially named Melursus ursinus. Despite the name referring to them as ‘lazy’, sloth bears are anything but lazy!
These bears have a distinctive shaggy black coat with a whitish-yellow ‘U’ or ‘Y’ shaped mark on their chest. And although they share a resemblance, sloth bears should not be confused with the Asian Black Bear (Ursus thibetanus)
Tinggi Gelombang Tujuh Hari kedepan
Dikeluarkan: Friday, 13 December 2024 13:00
Berlaku mulai Saturday, 14 December 2024 07:00 Sampai Friday, 20 December 2024 19:00
Sloth bears….and sloths and bears
Sloth bears got their name in 1791 by English zoologist George Shaw, who encountered the bear and believed the species was related to actual sloths since they shared similar traits, naming them “bear sloths”. Shaw named them Bradypus ursinus, which means something like ‘slow feet bear,’ using the family name of three-fingered sloths, the Genus Bradypus.
The sloth bear goes by many different names throughout the region depending on the language, and once Europeans got involved, the name changed once again. Confusion over whether the bear is a bear or a sloth made it challenging for scientists to classify it under the Latin-based binomial naming system. Once it was indeed determined that it was a bear, they changed the Genus but kept the common name, so “bear sloth” changed to “sloth bear.”
The modern scientific name of the sloth bear, Melursus ursinus, combines Greek and Latin elements. “Melursus” is derived from the Greek “melas” (meaning “black”) and the Latin “ursus” (meaning “bear”), referring to the bear’s dark fur. The specific name “ursinus,” from Latin, translates to “bear-like.”
To add more confusion to the subject, the most common name for sloths in Latin America is ‘oso perezoso’, which means, as you might guess, sloth bear.
