Talk:Sloth

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[edit] Pages

There is a need to create pages for both the three-toed and two-toed sloths. I suggest that we move some info into there, or else play about with redirects. And like the person before me said:

What about Sloth, the deadly sin?

[edit] Two-Toed And Three-Toed

Arrgghh! What's this with getting the two-toed sloths and the three-toed sloths mixed up? Wiwaxia 18:54, 6 Sep 2003 (UTC)

[edit] Awkward

Hey, doesn't it sound awkard with,qoute from text, "the blabla mammal became extinct when humans came to the North American continent" shouldn't it be like, settlers?--84.217.0.124 22:35, 22 Feb 2005 (UTC)

What do you mean, settlers? Colonists? Giant sloths were extinct long before Europeans showed up. I think the wording as-is is pretty decent. NTK 23:48, 6 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Speed

Is it true a sloth would take 1 month to traverse a single mile?

Please remember to sign your posts by writing ~~~~ after your text.

The speed must be wrong: how can it take one minute to make 15-30 cm? I am trying to find this out (I guess it is "per second" instead of "per minute") Nahraana (talk) 21:19, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

I browsed and found that "A sloth's average climbing speed is only 6 to 8 feet (1.8 to 2.4 meters) a minute. This may increase to as fast as 100 feet (30 meters) a minute if threatened or if a mother sloth and her child are separated." At Xenarthra.org, so the speed claimed in the article does not seem too unreal. I think we should add a reference though, so I added a {{fact}} template next to the statement. Federico Grigio, alias Nahraana (talk) 10:11, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Classification

The Xenarthra and the Anteater page (which is how I drifted here) show sloths as order Xenarthra, not Pilosa, although they list the same families (mostly) below it. I don't know anything about this area, but there seems to be some confusion. PerlKnitter 16:20, 11 August 2005 (UTC)

I thought sloths were Xantherans...61.230.78.55 08:46, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Is it safe to assume...

Is it safe to assume that sloths are the least dangerous animals any human could ever encounter? Sure they have those claws but I imagine dodging a claw-swipe from one of these would as easy as Neo dodging a schoolbus. --I am not good at running 19:13, 4 September 2005 (UTC)

Tim the Enchanter would probably dispute that. They are after all fierce beasts with giant claws that will rip you limb from limb. Terrible terrible beasts. Sabine's Sunbird 01:39, 5 September 2005 (UTC)

Despite their extremely slow speed, I doubt you could claim they are the least dangerous animal. For example, if they fall on you or some such (I'm not sure if they're able to jump on things), you may not be able to avoid them and even though they may not cause major damage, I'm quite sure their claws would be havens for all sorts of nasties which could cause major damage if not properly treated. Or even if you were simply careless. I would have to say the least dangerous animal would probably be something like a hydra. Even if you restrict yourself to mammals say, I would probably go for something else. Maybe some sort of dog (one of those tiny ones)... (Okay joking with that but I still wouldn't choose a sloth). Nil Einne 18:48, 6 March 2006 (UTC)

A hydra? Where can I get me one of those?? :) LebanonChild 11:44, 11 March 2006 (UTC)

Maybe Kitti's Hog-nosed Bat? Ucucha (talk) 20:43, 6 March 2006 (UTC)

I hate to be blunt, but you don't know what you're talking about (yes I know some of you were joking). While the sloth doesn't move great distances at any high rate of speed, this isn't for lack of musculature. The slow metabolism of the sloth is the limiting factor. If threatened, however, they will lash out with their forelimbs. People have been seriously injured when they approached sloths on the ground and had their legs swiped at. I'm not saying that a sloth could sustain a fight, but in the wild a few swipes of those big claws is usually enough to prevent a real fight from developing. A sloth is not helpless. The sloth in Image:Sloth47.JPG was raised by hand since it was very young. Approaching a wild sloth could be dangerous for both parties. If it does expend enough energy to mess you up, it will be weakened and not be able to as easily defend itself from real predators. This is similar to the cheetah, which must rest for around half an hour after a predatory sprint before it can do much more than lay down or stumble around (at least, that's what I remember the National Geographic channel said). —WAvegetarian•_{CONTRIBUTIONS}^TALK• ^EMAIL• 01:05, 7 April 2006 (UTC)

I'm sorry, i've never heard of a human fatality by a sloth... Nor a wound by a sloth. Any records? I was once nibbled by a two-toed, but it was like a puppy suckling for milk...--sin-man 04:50, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

Yeah. You know those prehistoric ground sloths like Megatherium? They can kill Smilodon with those long claws you know. Well, modern sloths are not as big as those ground sloths, but they still have those claws. They may be slow on everything, even digesting food, but I don't think they're slow with that swipe! So the statement that sloth claws are futile is quite bogus if you ask me.61.230.78.55 07:58, 7 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Family redirects

Agreed that it would be ideal if the individual families got their own pages, but there is no reason not to have a redirect in the meanwhile. A redirect in this case is useful, and this article gives much the same information that individual family articles would. As such, they ought to remain in place until such time as full articles are written. At the very least, this should be submitted to VfD, rather than simply speedily deleting on one person's say-so. john k 18:56, 8 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Herbivore/Omnivore contradiction

The article contradicts itself about the sloth herbivore/omnivore status:

• Sloths are herbivores, eating very little other than leaves.
• Sloths are omnivores, and generally eat leaves

Sounds like they're omnivores, unless they eat fruit flies, lizards, and suchlike by accident and accidental consumption makes a difference, but I don't know enough about the precise definititions to make the call. SleekWeasel 17:08, 20 August 2006 (UTC)

I am going to deem them omnivores as it's mention they eat some insects. This definition is from the omnivore page and states; "An omnivore (from Latin: omne all, everything; vorare to devour) is a species of animal who are "... generalized feeders, with neither carnivore nor herbivore specializations for acquiring or processing food, and who are capable of consuming and do consume both animal protein and vegetation."[1]

Omnivore is a species designation. Being an omnivorous species does not mean all animals in that species are required to eat both meat and plants. It also does not mean that the animals eat equal amounts of meat and plants."

^Making the required change now. Shaybear♥

[edit] Extinction of ground sloths

This article states:

Much evidence suggests that the extinction of the American megafauna, like that of Australia, far northern Asia, and New Zealand, resulted from human activity.

The statement implies that Australian, far northern Asian and New Zealand megafauna became extinct due to human activity, which has not been proven. Aleksei 07:21, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

Well what is proven is not know, but humans would have made some contribution. There would also be other factors involved. Enlil Ninlil 04:09, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

The edit 20:00, 31 December 2006 59.167.116.226 (Talk) (→Extinct species - removed comparison to australia, megafauna extinction is highly contentious, particularly concerning kill sites), is by me. I wasn't signed in. I removed the mention of Australia because the issue is highly contentious, largely due to the lack of any discernible kill sites (Except for possibly one, Cuddie Springs. Aggelophoros 10:07, 31 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] noise

Do sloths make noise at all? I really need an answer to this!! Please help. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Creamegg (talk • contribs) .

Do your own homework. - UtherSRG (talk) 02:27, 4 November 2006 (UTC)

They make shrill whistles and youngster bleat when seperated from parent.

[edit] vandalism

Hello, I was researching sloths and saw that someone fooled around with the text- "Josh Scott rules." Maybe someone should fix this. Thanks. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.235.15.46 (talk • contribs).

I shall fix it, but you can, too. We're all editors here. - UtherSRG (talk) 11:55, 5 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Intelligence?

There is nothing yet in the article about the intelligence of the sloth. I would guess, judging by the quality of the diet, that it's not very great, but it would be nice to hear what the people who know think. Ireneshusband 08:11, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

You think herbivours/vegetarians are idiotic neophytes?!?! I don't know about sloth's intelligence but I imagine it doesn't take much ingenuity to find and eat leaves.

Craobh sidhe (talk) 16:33, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Merging Xenarthra.Org Sloth Content with Wikipedia

A thought...

I don't know who who reads this talk page, but please have pitty with a newbie. I'm the webmaster of Xenarthra.Org, which contains large amounts of information on sloths. I'd like to merge my work (which I spent months slaving over) with Wikipedia's information. The trouble is that I'm not at all hip to how Wikipedia works. Comments / Feedback?

75.56.145.62 22:38, 26 January 2007 (UTC) Sloth I (sloth@slothwerks.com / info@xenarthra.org)

You best bet is to start by registering to have an account. All info you add should be sourced from some work other than your own. - UtherSRG (talk) 23:35, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

Done.

All information on Xenarthra.Org is from either 1) Published documents [found in the misc/bib/ page] or from suggestions I acquired from experts in the field (predominantly the author of SlothWorld and professors at the University of Michigan). Where possible, I can attempt to link text to the originating work; many of them are unfortunately no longer in my possession. More good news is that all charts and pictures on Xenarthra.Org have been acquired with full use on my part; I can pass them onto Wikipedia in the public domain.

Where do we start?

SlothWerks 00:43, 27 January 2007 (UTC) SlothWerks

You should definitely put a note on the site (EG. Link to a "copyright.html" or something) and explain your stance on copyrights, but be sure to include a note that any contributions from the site to WikipediA are acceptable and you don't mind them being released as GFDL (Note that if you're copyright is already PD, GFDL or similar you can just leave it at that, or maybe include a note). 68.39.174.238 00:59, 21 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Sloth Mammal Information Discussion

This is the author of Xenarthra.Org again. I'd like to begin open discussions to merge the research from my website with that of Wikipedia. Would the logical method be me making suggestions and simply correcting / adding information for which I have references? Anyone may feel free to email me directly at info@xenarthra.org... I'm very new at this. I also suspect it's going to take awhile to go through all of my text. (Another expert in the field of sloth anthropology recommended fixing misleading info on the ground sloth page as well.)

71.205.96.56 12:09, 13 February 2007 (UTC) SlothWerks

Just correct and add information as you see fit - only use the Talk pages for things you are unsure about or would like to dispute or get feedback on. If you have referenced info about sloths, and clearly you have heaps, just add it in, creating new sections and sub-sections as you see fit. This is Wikipedia - where the reader = author = editor; power to the people; etc. etc. Keep things as well referenced as possible, of course - best way to do this is to find references that are around already and imitate how they're done (look particularly for references that create footnotes - WikiMedia has a great system for this). --DreamsReign 05:59, 12 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Relative Speed

The main Sloth page says the two-toed sloths move slightly faster, but the Bradypodidae page says that the three-toed sloth moves faster. One is wrong!...which one? Hyperionred 14:35, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

Hrm... good question. Looks like it needs to be researched.... - UtherSRG (talk) 14:47, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

Ok, this article was correct. I've fixed (and sourced) the three-toed sloth page. - UtherSRG (talk) 14:56, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Life expectancy

How long do these marvelous creatures live for, or is their expected life-span? Daily Rubbings 18:04, 24 May 2007 (UTC)