Giant Ground Sloths

From: Marfa Public Radio
Series: Nature Notes
Length: 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.

Piece Audio

Playing: Giant Ground Sloths
From: Marfa Public Radio

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?