Yesterday on National Public Radio I heard an unusual story.
The giant sloth is extinct, the announcer read, and scientists are now concerned about what that means for the desert and dry-land Joshua tree. These trees grew in evolutionary symbiosis with the giant sloth as the slow moving giant-clawed creatures were instrumental in the trees’ move to more favorable climates. You can read how poop is involved in this process thanks to the good folks at National Public radio. But now (well, 13,000 years ago) the giant sloths are extinct. These Joshua trees live extraordinarily long lives, but cannot survive much longer in their current changing climates. At least, not without the ancient sloth poop that is no longer available.
I don’t know why sloth dung is best for moving Joshua tree seeds, but have we considered an overlooked possibility? Maybe the sloths aren’t extinct but just late in getting back from scouting out better Joshua tree climates.
“Hooooooollld ooooooonnnnnn, Joooooshhhhhuaaaaaa. Iiiiiaaam ooooonnnn mmmmmyyyy wwwwaaaayyyy!” (Cars honk as they pass giant sloth on freeway).
Ha! Sloths are slow.
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