On: Why Are Sloths So Slow?

[greentxt]

I doubt they can control the smell.

[bell-cot → greentxt]

Puffer fish can't control being poisonous, but it still discourages predators.

[lagniappe → bell-cot]

Poor example, they're not naturally poisonous, it's dietary. Palytoxin and Ciguatoxin are not endogenous, the animal first has to eat another organism containing a dinoflagellate that creates these toxins, Gambierdiscus toxicus. This quality is inherent to most reef fish, especially ones with beaks.

[bell-cot → lagniappe]

> Poor example, they're not naturally...

So...what if the vile-smelling feces of the sloths was not "natural", but due to a variety of microorganisms which had colonized their intestines?

[greentxt → lagniappe]

Begging the question, nature or nutrition.

[CubicsRube → greentxt]

Like tigers can't control their coat color or stripe pattern, but it has an evolutionary advantage so these traits persist.