October 20, 2010 was declared International Sloth Day ( International Sloth Day ). So among the holidays dedicated to the animal world of planet Earth, a new one appeared, designed to draw attention to an unusual animal, the range of which was the forests of Central and South America.
The sloth is really an unusual animal. He got his name for exceptional slowness when moving. However, one should not take the word of the sloth literally in relation to this representative of the fauna.
The laziness of the sloth is explained by energy-saving behavior, due, in turn, to the diet and the peculiarities of metabolism. He spends most of his time on trees, eating leaves. Sleep takes about 15-20 hours a day in their lives, and food is digested in the stomach for about 90 hours. A sloth descends to the ground very rarely. It is here that he is most vulnerable to predators. One of the reasons that make him go down is the natural need for defecation. This need the sloth disperses once a week. On the earth, sloth, due to the peculiarities of the structure of the limbs, cannot rely on them and moves almost in a crawl. But in the water he feels much freer, swimming perfectly and even diving.
The sloth itself looks like a medium-sized dog with long limbs, a small head and an almost flat face. His tail is so small that it is barely noticeable. The laziness of a sloth is thick. It serves as the habitat of many insects, some species of fungal and even algae. It is symbiotic algae that give the animal a color with a greenish hue.
The slow image of a sloth and its unusual appearance have been repeatedly used in animation. The image of Sid's sloth from « Ice Age », as well as sloths from the cartoon « Zveropolis » invariably with each view cause genuine laughter and smiles not only of children, but also of adults.
In 2010, the AIUNAU nonprofit foundation, whose goal is to protect and preserve the diversity of wildlife, declared October 20 as World ( or International ) Lenin Day. This Colombian organization carries out a patronage and implements a rehabilitation program for animals of the Xenartra squad, which includes antsy ants and armadillos in addition to sloths.
Establishing a holiday, activists from AIUNAU set the goal of drawing attention to rare species of South American animals in order to preserve them, save their habitat, and help those of them, who suffered from negative effects from humans.
Photovoltaic exhibitions, demonstration of documentaries, performances by zoologists dedicated to the unique animal – sloth are dedicated to the holiday.