Sloths' bizarre 'toilet habit' recorded in Amazon, Peru

[Ian David]

Two-toed sloths have been recorded descending from the trees to feed out of a human toilet.

The extraordinary behaviour, recorded on at least 25 occasions in the Amazon rainforest of Peru, has stumped the biologists who witnessed it.

The sloths either crawl into the latrine to feed from it or scoop out the excrement and waste within.

The feeding habit is even more bizarre as wild sloths are plant eaters not known to feed on animal matter.

<snip>

Researchers speculate the sloths must derive some nutritional benefit from their bizarre feeding habit, though it is unclear exactly what that might be.


Emerging from a human toilet

Im in ur toylit eatin ur poops

More:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8659000/8659239.stm

[glowing]

1. They probably do this in the wild and normally eat other nature's poop.

However, when the humans provide a feeding trough, why not dine?

[HysteryDiagnosis]

2. My question is......... will they eat oil? n/t

[htuttle]

3. That picture is enough to put me off using pit toilets forever

Not that I was ever a big fan of them in the first place, though.

[Fumesucker]

4. Ever tried to keep a dog from scarfing nuggets from the kitty litter? n/t

[Orsino]

5. And I think it's significant...

...that these same sloths still don't listen to Nickelback.

[frylock]

6. oh, hai!

:rofl:

[Decoy of Fenris]

7. Toilet Sloth is watching you poo. n/t

[Canuckistanian]

8. I find this interesting despite the gag factor

it shows that the sloth's digestive system is capable of extracting nutrients from material which our own bodies are not capable of doing.

It may explain the evolutionary success. After all, they're tens of millions of years older than us.