Earthsky FAQs
Private: How slow is the world’s slowest animal?
Scientists say that the slow movements of a sloth are the essence of its success. By those standards, Mats is a very successful sloth indeed...
April 11, 2007 - Biodiversity
The latest example: in early 2007, scientists in the east German city of Jena finally gave up trying to get a sloth – named Mats – to move, after three years of trying. Mats was part of an experiment in animal movement at the University of Jena. But Mats wouldn’t participate. He refused to climb up and then back down a pole, no matter how many pounds of cucumbers or plates of spaghetti the scientists used to entice him. A spokesperson for the experiment was quoted as saying that Mats “obviously wanted absolutely nothing to do with furthering science.”
The slow movements of a sloth are the essence of the success of this South America species. Sloths’ predators include large birds of prey, such as eagles. An eagle tends to detect its prey as the prey moves. Sloths keep their motion to a minimum. When they do shift position, it’s almost as if they’re moving in slow motion. So in a way, Mats’ refusal to move for these experimenters is a sort of triumph of nature over science.
As for Mats, he’s is now relaxing in his new home: a zoo in the city of Duisburg.