The Giant Bayou Sloth

   Sloths are most notably known for their slow movements and the constant "smile".  The smile is more of a coloration thing but it does make the critter look incredibly happy.  They are also a bit of a curiosity because most are green.  There are just not a lot of green-furred critters in the world and that makes the sloths of the wild quite interesting.  A little lesson here...sloths are green due to algae growing on their fur.  They live in such a warm, humid place that the algae grows on anything that sits still long enough.  Well, sloths literally cannot outrun algae so they become covered with the stuff and appear green.  Nice!

  Well, this morning, Son and I found the Giant Bayou Sloth.  True to sloth fashion, it was not moving and was green due to algae.  To be honest, though, I could not tell you if our sloth is entirely happy or not.  There were no facial features to be found.  

  As Son was bailing out the small skiff, I was poking around in the marshes.  It was in the shallows that I came across a huge mass of algae covered coonstail (an invasive aquatic plant).  Ugh!  That stuff nigh on clogged the Bayou and even the Bay last summer and is making a comeback with the hot weather.  I mentioned it to Son who looked up and noticed something odd about my discovery.  "Looks more like a quadrupedal covered with algae."  This man of few words went back to his chore.  Hmm...yep.  Well, indeed, it did.  It is hard to tell by the photograph but the outline of a large, four-legged critter could be seen.  The fluffy plants had grown in the perfect shape of a sloth!  The algae covered the plants and made the underlying leaves look a lot like long fur.  I had a Giant Bayou Sloth in all its slow-moving, algae-covered glory!  Wonder where its smile went?  Maybe sloths do not like being stuck in marshes.

  The coonstail plants and the green algae will soon fill the entire waterways once again.  Wildlife will struggle simply due to the stupidity of people.  The plants were dumped into the Bay by folks clearing ponds and those and the algae are being fed by runoff of fertilizer from yards.  People never think about the consequences the natural flora and fauna pay for their quest of the perfect lawn.  The price we all pay.