Imagine it’s the Ice Age. Massive beasts roam the land, including the giant ground sloth.
These gentle giants, like the Lestodon and Megatherium, played a key role in ensuring the survival of one of today’s most popular fruits: the avocado.
That’s right—if it weren’t for these slow-moving, prehistoric poop machines, your guacamole might not exist.
Imagine an avocado-loving creature the size of an elephant! The Lestodon measured a whopping 15 feet from snout to tail and weighed around 4 tons.
Roaming the forests of North and South America, these sloths were massive compared to today’s adorable tree-dwelling relatives. While modern sloths might be content with a leisurely life in the treetops, their ancient cousins were ground-dwelling giants capable of standing on their hind legs, a skill they likely used to reach for tasty avocados.
And these slow giants didn’t just have size on their side—they also had armor! Lestodon had bony plates buried under their skin for a bit of extra protection. Despite their sluggish nature, they were well-adapted to survive in a world filled with other megafauna.
So how did sloths give us avocados? It all comes down to their diet and their bathroom habits. These ancient sloths had a serious thing for avocados, gobbling them whole—pit and all. Since no other animals at the time could handle swallowing those large seeds, it was the sloths that played the hero, distributing the seeds far and wide via their, uh, bathroom breaks.
This helped the trees spread and thrive. Essentially, the sloths were nature’s gardeners, fertilizing the land as they lumbered along.
Around 13,000 years ago, things took a turn for the worse. The giant ground sloths, along with other megafauna like mammoths, went extinct, likely due to a combination of climate change and human hunting. This could have spelled doom for the avocado. Without sloths to spread their seeds, wild avocados faced stiff competition and struggled to thrive.
But then came humans. Early humans in Central and South America stepped in and began cultivating the avocado.
The avocados you see today are a bit different from their wild ancestors. Back in the day, wild avocados had much larger pits and a thinner layer of flesh—probably not the first pick for your morning toast. Over centuries of cultivation, humans have transformed the fruit into more of the creamy, delicious treat we love today.
These days, avocados are a staple in Mexican cuisine, and thanks to a targeted marketing campaign in the 1990s, they’ve become a worldwide sensation, especially in dishes like guacamole.
So next time you’re enjoying avocado toast, take a moment to thank the long-extinct giant ground sloths. Who knew ancient poop could lead to such a delicious outcome?
Stop by Ripley’s Aquarium of Myrtle Beach in South Carolina and come face-to-face with the adorable creatures at Ripley’s Sloth Valley habitat!
Trek to the tropical rainforest and experience the two-toed sloths, Rico and Cleo, of Ripley's Aquarium of Myrtle Beach.
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