Sloth Evolution or Creation?
by Owen Omid Borville
June 21, 2019
​Biology
The sloth is a unique and unusual mammal that is commonly found hanging upside down from trees in the tropical rainforests of South America and Central America. The sloth is medium sized (17 to 31 inches long) and commonly known for its slow motion, which is attributed to its low metabolic rate and low energy from eating low-nutrition foods such as tree leaves. This slow metabolic rate means that the sloth also has a very slow digestive system and may take up to three weeks to digest food. Many sloths go to the ground surface to have a bowel movement and this act makes the sloth vulnerable to predators. Unusually, the sloth will dig a hole and cover its bowel up before going back into the tree. However, some scientists believe that the sloth does this to attract mates. Some sloths have also been observed to release bowels from the tree.
The sloth can have two toes or three toes on its front feet but the bottom feet always have three toes. The three-toed sloth is active during the day but the two toed sloth is active at night. The sloth has long, sharp claws that help in climbing trees and eating. Despite its slow motion, sloths are able to swim unusually well and much faster than they walk. The unusual shape of the sloth head, face, and body is unlike any other animal and evolutionists have difficulty explaining the origin of the sloth and its evolutionary line.
​Like many mammals, the sloth has a strong sense of smell that helps in locating food. The sloth fur helps to camouflage from predators by way of algae that grows on their fur. The sloth body is specially designed to allow hanging upside down from tree branches most of the time without pressuring its lungs or body parts. This is important because the sloth does almost everything hanging upside down, including eating, sleeping, mating, and giving birth. Although the sloth is not very large, ancient sloths were as big as an elephant. The sloth diet is primarily plant based but sloths have been known to eat insects and even birds. The sloth neck is designed to allow head turning almost all the way around to help protect the animal in times of danger. The sloth face usually shows what appears to be a smile but this appearance is misleading, as sloths can be suffering or in pain and this facial design does not necessary imply happiness. The unique features and behaviors of the sloth proclaim the grand design of an Intelligent Designer who created all life during a week-long Creation Week about 6,000 years ago.