Levi's Web Site...

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0><script> (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){ (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o), m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m) })(window,document,'script','//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga'); ga('create', 'UA-47423994-1', 'fortunecity.ws'); ga('send', 'pageview'); </script> <center> <br> <div> <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://ad.broadcaststation.net/ads/show_ad.php?width=728&height=90"></script> </div> </center> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=168 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="041a11c3.gif"> <div> <IMG SRC="04d89da0.jpg" border=0 width="137" height="218" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <IMG SRC="04f8cba0.jpg" border=0 width="140" height="186" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <IMG SRC="0728a8e0.gif" border=0 width="138" height="142" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Sloths</div> <div> Levi Williamson</div> <div> 04/05/01</div> <div> Applied Science</div> <div> 5th hour </div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <B>Levi's Web Site...</B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="040f4010.gif" border=0 width="500" height="1" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="08f39550.gif" border=0 width="57" height="85" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"><IMG SRC="09037520.gif" border=0 width="55" height="82" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"><IMG SRC="091344e0.gif" border=0 width="52" height="78" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"><IMG SRC="092334d0.gif" border=0 width="51" height="77" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"><IMG SRC="093334c0.gif" border=0 width="51" height="76" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <B>Class: </B>Mammal</div> <div> <B>Order: </B>Edentate</div> <div> <B>Family: </B>Choloepidae</div> <div> <B>Scientific name: </B>Choloepus didactylus</div> <div> <B>Range:</B> Central America, northern South America</div> <div> <B>Habitat: </B>Rain forests</div> <div> <B>Diet: Wild:</B> Tender shoots, leaves, fruits, blossoms</div> <div> <B>Zoo:</B> Fruit and vegetables</div> <div> <B>Gestation:</B> Seems to be about 5 months</div> <div> <B>Litter size: </B>Usually 1</div> <div> <B>Life span:</B> 20 years some may exceed 25 years</div> <bR> <bR> <div>         The animal I researched was the Sloth.  A sloth can be found in Central America and South America.  Sloths live in a rain forest ecosystem.  They are mainly found in the trees which is its habitat.  A sloth is unique because it is the slowest animal on Earth.  The sloth's habitat is usually in the rain forest but they are being brought to zoos all over the world and are becoming house pets. These magnificent creatures are almost always in the canopy, so that they get lots of sunlight and moisture. It is also harder for a predator to get a sloth in the canopy, but the sloth comes to the forest floor once or twice a week to go to a new tree. Sloth's live in a very protective place.</div> <div>         Sloths have many unusual physical characteristics. They are slow moving creatures, and are only two feet long and one foot wide. These animals are dark brown in color, but they have green algae growing in their hair. As herbivores, sloths actually only use their five inch claws to hang and eat, not for self defense! The gentle mammals of the rain forest are truly unusual.</div> <div>           Sloths are plant-eaters who are more active at night;(nocturnal) they eat leaves (including leaves from the cecropia tree), tender young shoots, and fruit; they are herbivores (plant eaters). It used to be thought that sloths ate mostly cecropia leaves because they were often spotted in cecropia trees. It turns out that they also live in many other trees, but aren't spotted there as easily as in cecropia trees. </div> <div> Sloths have a low metabolic rate and a low body temperature (91°F). This keeps their food and water needs to a minimum. Sloths have small molars which they use to chew up their leafy food. Their stomach has many separate compartments that are used to digest the tough cellulose (a component of plant material that they eat). </div> <div>           Adult females produce a single baby each year. They give birth upside down hanging from a tree branch.  A sloth's gestation period is almost six months. The newborn is about 10 inches (25 cm) long, and weighs about 12 oz (350g). It clings to its mother until about 5 weeks old.  The sloth is <B><U>nocturnal</U></B> (most active at night), and it sleeps about 15 hours each day.  Sloths aren't the best parents. The Barras Two Toed Sloth chases away their only young. When they hear it cry they get moved and start looking for it, but often gets distracted and forgets to finish the search. In order to survive, the Bares Two Toed sloth's young can go twice as fast as their mom to get away from predators.</div> <div>        Sloths have many techniques for survival. The algae in their hair makes them look like the tree... camouflage! The sloth's thirty to forty-eight ribs act as a shield.  That shield can usually hold out forever, but when it can't, the sloth can heal in one hour. These things help a sloth survive in the wild. </div> <div>        Sloths have some rare predators, like the jaguar. The more extreme predators are ocelots, anacondas, harpy eagles, and crocodiles. The main enemy is the human, by destroying their habitat. These are the main predators and other dangers the sloth has to face.</div> <div>         Here are some other facts about sloths. Did you know that a sloth can go one week without urinating? The Giant Ground Sloth could grow up to the size of an elephant, but they became extinct one million years ago. </div> <div>        In conclusion, sloths are the most spectacularly successful large mammals in Central and South America. In many places, they account for one fourth to two thirds of the total mammalian biomes, and half of the energy consumption of all terrestrial mammals. This success is largely due to the fact that the effects of competitors and predators are scarcely perceptible. They eat what very few other mammals want, and most predators do not detect them. </div> <bR> <div>        </div> <div>                     <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Pictures"><U><IMG SRC="08896230.gif" border=0 width="150" height="35" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A>    </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>