Hostages of civilization: they cannot cross the road themselves, but kind people help them (6 photos)

They are transferred across the road almost more often than grannies! But why do sloths always need help? Are the animals really not able to cross the road themselves?





I'll ride with the breeze!

Unfortunately no. More precisely, they can try to do this, but with almost 100% probability the animal will die when crossing the roadway. Why?

Firstly, our slow-moving heroes are hostages of their own evolution. For millions of years, they purposefully crawled to slow down the level of metabolism and, accordingly, all other processes in the body. The maximum speed to which the animal can accelerate is 3 meters per minute!



Even a sloth obeys traffic rules and crosses the road at a zebra crossing!

In addition to total slowness, sloths have also moved to live in trees. That is why their structure has changed: the animals are no longer able to support their bodies while standing on their paws. They move along the ground by crawling. So their entire journey to the opposite side of the road is pure luck. Just a little bit, and they are no longer on that side, but on the other side.





What kind of pendants do you have in your car?

Secondly, sloths are not large animals, only 3-7 kilograms and 80 centimeters in length. Having descended to the ground, the animals stretch their legs far out and literally spread out along the road. At least you can see the grandmothers at the crossing, but try to spot these little animals, and at speed too! The car will not be able to stop abruptly, the animals themselves are not able to escape - and this results in an accident.



How? Already red?

But even if suddenly the beast is terribly lucky, and he is able to get to the other side of the road, his trials will still not end. What's along our roads? That's right, pillars! No fewer sloths die from electric shocks than from collisions with cars - animals climb poles not only next to the highway, but generally wherever they are.



Sloths cling to any vertical surface, imagining that they are about to climb a tree.

There are entire groups that help slow herbivores. Some rescue animals after accidents and electric shocks, others build special suspension bridges for sloths. The design is simple: a thick rope from tree to tree - that’s the whole bridge. But how much benefit! Animals, although not immediately, learn to use such transitions, due to which their mortality rate is greatly reduced.



When I stood at the bus stop for 30 minutes, I still didn’t get a bus, but the cars were splashed with puddles several times.

Don't be on the sidelines either: if you ever meet a sloth, know: your help can save his life! Carefully move the animal to the other side of the road, record a cute video as an example for others, and go about your business. Sloths are gentle creatures and don’t need extra attention.