Every sloth is an ecosystem

It turns out that sloths are even more amazing than we thought. Every sloth is a slow-moving ecosystem which includes the sloth itself, a species of moth which lives only on the sloth’s fur, and a species of algae which only grows on the edges of the sloth’s hairs. The sloths supplement their diet by eating the algae, the moths increase the amount of nitrogen in the sloths’ fur, which encourages growth of the algae, and the moths lay their eggs in the sloth’s once-weekly poop.

Image courtesy Flickr/iamrandygirl