6 of The Slowest Animals On The Planet

Have you been watching too many agile and fast moving predators chasing after dinner in those wildlife shows? Well, here’s a little change of pace. Although most animals would prefer to be able to move fast, especially when it’s time to run or chase after food, not all animals are built to speed. Here are some of the slowest animals in the wild.

Garden Snail

No surprise here. The award for slowest moving creature in the planet goes to the garden snail. They’re a specie of land snail that’s very common, so common in fact you could just find them in your garden. They move at a speed of 1.3 cm per second, which is roughly around 78 cm a minute or 47 meters an hour.

Sloth

They’re cute, but they’re very slow. Sloths actually got their name from their slowness. They can move to around 2 meters per minute. They spend most of their time on top of trees in the wild where they are less vulnerable, feeding on fruits and nuts, so you’d usually never see these guys on the ground.

Starfish

You wouldn’t expect these beautiful creatures to move, but they actually have tiny tentacles that help them go from point A to point B at a distance of 15 cm in a minute. Starfishes move around the sea floor looking for food or a place they can hide. If they stay too close to the shore, the need to move to the water when the tide goes down to avoid getting too dry.

Giant Tortoise

Not only are they slow, they also live for a very long time. Giant tortoises are said to have a lifespan of about 200 years, so they’re never in a hurry. They can also get pretty heavy, reaching a weight of 300 kg when they mature.

Koala Bear

Koala Bears are one of the most adorable animals on the plant. But be warned, they can get a bit aggressive and even bit or urinate on you. Thankfully, they move very slowly, so don’t expect to get chased away by one.

Slug

What seems to look like a homeless snail is actually an animal of its own. Slugs are slimy little animals that more at a maximum speed of 0.3 km/h. Like snails, they also leave a train of slime along the way. One of the most amazing features that slugs have is their amazing, vibrant colors.

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Species going extinct faster than old times

While it's clear that we are undergoing a major climate change, a new study reveals that different species of animals have vanished faster than the time when humans first appeared. Could it be because of the temperature change? Or is it because of the overpopulation of human beings?

Javan Tiger (1994)

A report says that animals have been vanishing 1,000 times faster compared to the early times. It's even faster than what biologists have believed according to Duke University's lead biologist Stuart Pimm. 

Lonesome George, the last giant tortoise died 2012 (Pinta Island Tortoise)

The said report was published in the journal Science last Thursday, which was now hailed by outside experts as the landmark study. 

What's more? Pimm additionally announced from research at the Dry Tortugas that "We are on the verge of the sixth extinction, whether we avoid it or not will depend on our actions."

Lonesome George close-up

Though there are a number of factors involved, but the number 1 issue is habitat loss. Various animals have lost their habitats due to human alterations for advanced structures.

Ordinary people like us might not make any major changes about this issue, except for some rich businessmen and the government. However, what we can do is at least save space, reduce unprofitable housing, and most of all, practice population control in our own family circle. 

With the use of your gadgets, applications like iNaturalist could help by sending signals to biologists to locate species that are in trouble. With your mobile report, they can put them in captivity to find better suitable alternatives to save them and encourage repopulating their kind.

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