Caption: Skeletal remains of a Shasta ground sloth., Credit: The Jesse Earl Hyde Collection, Case Western Reserve University
Image by: The Jesse Earl Hyde Collection, Case Western Reserve University 
Skeletal remains of a Shasta ground sloth. 

Giant Ground Sloths

Series: Nature Notes
From: Marfa Public Radio
Length: 00:04:30

Ground sloths weren’t cute, cuddly tree-dwellers like sloths today. They weighed 500 pounds and stood nine-feet tall. Who were these Ice Age creatures? And what have they taught us about the desert’s past? Read the full description.

Nothrotheriops_small Close your eyes, and imagine a sloth. What do you see? You’re probably picturing a preternaturally cute mammal moving ever so slowly through the rainforest, using its long claws to cling to tree branches while it lazily munches on twigs and leaves. Now, imagine your sloth growing to the size of a grizzly bear, or even an elephant, and you have one of the now-extinct giant ground sloths of North America. What were these Ice Age creatures like? And what have they taught us about the past?

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Piece Description

Close your eyes, and imagine a sloth. What do you see? You’re probably picturing a preternaturally cute mammal moving ever so slowly through the rainforest, using its long claws to cling to tree branches while it lazily munches on twigs and leaves. Now, imagine your sloth growing to the size of a grizzly bear, or even an elephant, and you have one of the now-extinct giant ground sloths of North America. What were these Ice Age creatures like? And what have they taught us about the past?

Musical Works

Title Artist Album Label Year Length
Big Sky (Reprise) Dan Gibson, Bill Brennan, Rob Piltch Country Retreat. Solitudes 2000 00:00

Additional Credits

Writer John Seebach. Host Dallas Baxter.

Related Website

http://www.marfapublicradio.org/nature-notes/shasta-ground-sloths/