After we spent a few minutes taking pictures, Balu began to touch and experiment with our things. He liked to try to climb into backpacks and stole a black tarp to hide under! It reminded me of when my niece hides under a blanket. Most of the time he would just curl up into a ball, tail wrapped around his back, and watch us from afar. However, sometimes he was more social: he slept right under Kim's hammock all night and joined us for our camp breakfast in the morning! He ate our leftover pasta from the dinner before.
Both the Sloth and the Venezuelan Red Howler Monkey live in the rainforests of South and Central America.
Monkeys have very observable adaptations that help them to survive in the wild. Specifically, Venezuelan Red Howler monkeys have long tails, as well as big hands and feet, which allow them to leap from tree to tree. Balu also showed us how he adapts to the cold nights in the rainforest: he wrapped himself into a tight ball to conserve heat. As their names suggest, howler monkeys can sure howl! When we were leaving, Balu made his voice well heard, perhaps to show that he was in danger or maybe looking for others to travel with.
After seeing the amazing climbing ability of the sloth, I decided to do some research into its other adaptations that I may not have been aware of.
