Meet Señor Sloth

By “Awake!” correspondent in Bolivia

SEÑOR Sloth is a Latin American, his name being Señor Perezoso in Spanish. A visitor to Santa Cruz, Bolivia, may meet him at the Plaza in the center of the city. He may be seen approaching, much like a slow swimmer on dry land. No need for alarm, though, for Señor Sloth is every bit a gentleman.

Slowness of movement is the sloth’s most outstanding characteristic. In fact, the English word sloth comes from the word slow. Indeed, to observe him is exactly like watching a movie scene in slow motion.

Señor Sloth is really out of his element on the ground. His home is in the branches of trees. And how marvelously he is equipped for life there!

Three strong toenails or claws extend from each of his four limbs, enabling him to hook into the wood of the tree. He hangs beneath the branch, back downward, clinging with his claws to the branch above. So he moves along upside down, slowly swinging Tarzanlike from branch to branch.

Señor Sloth spends almost his whole life upside down. He even sleeps in that position, hanging onto the branch above with his hooklike claws. Mating and giving birth also take place upside down. So securely does he hold that position that he may even hang there for some time after he dies!

Since he is so very slow, you may think that Señor Sloth is without protection. But he does have his claws, and he may use these when provoked. Hanging by one hind leg, he can turn his body almost 360 degrees. In this position he can strike out at enemies with both arms. But he is generally mild-tempered. One of his greatest protections against potential enemies is his general appearance.

First, he has a Mongoloid-type grin that is most appealing. As he climbs, he continually turns his head like a pivot on his revolving neck, smiling benignly over each shoulder at any onlooker below. This naïve ‘no-one-would-want-to-hurt-me’ look should at least have a somewhat disconcerting effect on any human enemy.

But his camouflaged appearance is also a great protection. He is covered with shaggy gray hair, which is much like bristle except that it is soft to the touch. The gray is varied by lighter patches and a black streak up the back, with small black stripes across the face near the eyes. These markings perfectly match gray tree trunks and branches. His slowness, of course, adds to the effect.

The result is that Señor Sloth becomes almost invisible. Remarking upon his ability seemingly to disappear in the branches of a tree, one observer related:

“I stood under a tree, absolutely bare of leaves. Looking upward, I spent several minutes trying to locate a sloth. About to turn away, suddenly I was able to catch sight of one. Then another, and another. Finally I counted five of them hanging directly over my head! It was a cold day and each one had rolled himself into a tight ball, and was hanging by one arm from a limb of the tree, sound asleep. I had taken them for knotty bumps, part of the tree itself.”

It is most interesting to see Mamma Sloth taking little baby for a ride through the high branches of a tree. It is a ‘piggyback’ ride the other way around, since Baby Sloth rides on Mamma’s tummy. He hangs on tightly, as Mamma’s strong arms pull them both from branch to branch. Baby is not afraid, but enjoys every moment. This can be seen from the way he ducks his head out from under Mamma’s strong arms to grin down at amused spectators below.

Many parents in Santa Cruz bring their small children to the Plaza to see Señor Sloth. Both young and old enjoy watching this truly fascinating creation of God.