Scientists can't get sloth to move

AP ^ | 01/24/07

[presidio9]

Scientists in the eastern German city of Jena said Wednesday they have finally given up after three years of failed attempts to entice a sloth into budging as part of an experiment in animal movement.

The sloth, named Mats, was remanded to a zoo after consistently refusing to climb up and then back down a pole, as part of an experiment conducted by scientists at the University of Jena's Institute of Systematic Zoology and Evolutionary Biology.

Neither pounds of cucumbers nor plates of homemade spaghetti were appetizing enough to make Mats move.

"Mats obviously wanted absolutely nothing to do with furthering science," said Axel Burchardt, a university spokesman.

Mats' new home is the zoo in the northwestern city of Duisburg where, according to all reports, he is very comfortable.

[Still Thinking]

Is this true?

[Spktyr]

News Flash: Sloth Smarter Than Scientists, Film At 11.

[VRWCmember]

Scientists can't get sloth to move? Just show him a plate of food and he'll move quick enough.

[fishtank]

There's a lesson about liberals somewhere in this story.....

[Lx]

I ain't moving.

[FreedomCalls]

[southernnorthcarolina]

Neither pounds of cucumbers nor plates of homemade spaghetti were appetizing enough to make Mats move.

The sloth would have moved, however, if a bottle of Dewar's had been used as bait.

[Lady Jag]

It's a rolling stone gathers no moss!

[cripplecreek]

That's no sloth, it's a stay.

[randog]

Three years spent trying to get a sloth to move? Their grant must have run out.

[coloradan]

What do you call a fly with no wings?

A walk.

[cripplecreek]

I thought about that. I call em "crawls".

[Grut]

'E's just resting.

[Tainan]

A Norwegian Blue....sloth.

[Cyclopean Squid]

Just give him his Baby Ruth.

[Rb ver. 2.0]

The only way to move a sloth

[southernnorthcarolina]

^ Outstanding!