North to Alaska

Ice Age Returns to Fairbanks!

Fairbanks wanted to do something extra special this year for its World Ice Art Championships. Someone decided that it would be great to premiere the New Ice Age movie and bring in some of its big stars—voices in this case. Most were familiar with Bob Hope’s one liner about Alaska. “Your hands will freeze off if you go there!” Fairbanks does get plenty cold—even in March. So invitations were extended and regrets after regrets poured in. Finally, John Leguizamo, the voice of Sid the Sloth, volunteered or maybe was drafted. He made his grand entry by a dogsled pulled by Siberian Huskies. It must have been a short ride because he was not wearing a hat or a scarf. He remarked that "I used to complain about New York weather, but I'm never complaining again!" He added, "This is the coldest, most beautiful place I've been to in my life.” He also had trouble signing autographs with his gloves on. Welcome to Fairbanks.
In the animated movie Leguizamo gives voice to Sid the Sloth—a giant ground sloth. We normally think of sloths as slow moving tropical creatures. If you are half frozen, then you probably are slow moving—very slow. And, yes, once upon a time there were sloths here and in the lower 48. Four types to be precise. Some of these were giants who weighed five tons and were as big as elephants. Naturally they had trouble climbing trees and lived on the ground. They could walk upright as in the movie. There is some evidence from the Kimmswick Site to suggest that the Clovis People may have used the hides of the Harlan's ground sloth.
Legends would persist that giant creatures left over from earlier ages still roamed the earth. Rumor had it that the giant sloth might still be counted among their numbers. In the 1890’s Ramon Lista was hunting in Argentina when a creature that looked like a giant armadillo crossed his path. He tried unsuccessfully to shoot it. When a paleontologist heard Listra’s story he was convinced that it was a giant sloth and went to check it out. He was so certain of success that he named it Neomylodon listai, or "Lista's new Mylodon. He became even more excited when some indigenous people showed him the hide of a creature and he was convinced that he had found something to rival the Abominable Snowman and the Lock Ness Monster. When the hide was tested it proved to be about 10,000 years old. The Abominable Sloth was no more.
We recently visited the Sloth Sanctuary at Aviarios del Caribe on the banks of the Estrella River Estuary in Costa Rica. It is run by Bill and Judy Arroyo. Judy met Bill here in Alaska, but got married and moved to Costa Rica where it is much warmer. They did not have any intention of starting a rescue program for sloths. It just happened one day when someone gifted them with a baby sloth that they named Buttercup. They quickly became experts as more and more were deposited on their doorsteps. For some reason, babies are unable to hold on to their mothers and drop to the forest floor where they become easy prey for snakes and other jungle creatures. Bill and Judy now care for 20 some-odd sloths. Some are of the two- toed and some of the three-toed variety. They are small but nimble creatures that live high in the trees where they are safe from their predators. They descend to the forest floor only once every eight days. They are cute and cuddly. And by the way, if you wander the trails there is no chance of a five-ton Abominable Sloth falling on your head. Remember the giant sloth is extinct. Remember they don’t live in trees. Don’t look up!
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