There’s more to sloths than slowness. They’re great at saving energy, hanging upside down, and swimming! In this episode, Sloth Appreciation Society founder Lucy Cooke stops by to tell us all about these amazing animals. We also get into a sloth mystery: The Case of the Perilous Poop Journey. Luckily, there’s a sloth sleuth on the case. And sloths aren’t the only animals who aren’t in a hurry — a few others show off their slowest skills.

There’s also a Mystery Sound for you to guess, and a Moment of Um: Why do ostriches stick their heads in the ground?

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NARRATOR: You're listening to Brains On where we're serious about being curious.

NARRATOR: Brains On is supported in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

SANDEN TOTTEN: Come on, Harvey, you can do it. Just say "totally slothsome."

[BEEP]

HARVEY: I'm sorry, Sanden. I cannot complete this task. I do not recognize the command.

[BEEP]

SANDEN TOTTEN: "Slothsome," I created my own word by combining "sloths" with "awesome." See, "slothsome?"

[BEEP]

HARVEY: Are you looking for a recipe for some sauce?

[BEEP]

SANDEN TOTTEN: Ugh, no, why is this so hard?

[BEEP]

CRISTINA AREU: Sanden, what are you doing?

SANDEN TOTTEN: Oh, hey, Cristina. Hey, Molly. I'm just trying to expand Harvey's vocabulary. You?

MOLLY BLOOM: We're just heading over to the studio.

SANDEN TOTTEN: Slothsome.

CRISTINA AREU: He's doing it again.

MOLLY BLOOM: Oh yeah, he's always trying to get us to adopt his word inventions. Sanden, this is just like when you tried to make turdriffic happen.

CRISTINA AREU: Or caketastic.

SANDEN TOTTEN: But slothsome is different.

MOLLY BLOOM: Is it? It's kind of a mouthful.

CRISTINA AREU: Yeah, can you even say it three times fast?

SANDEN TOTTEN: Slothsome, slothsome, sloth-- slothsome-- sloth-- no, apparently, I can't. But I can say it three times slowly. Check it out. (SLOWLY) Sloth--

MOLLY BLOOM: Sorry, Sanden, we've got to go. We've got a show to tape.

CRISTINA AREU: See you later.

SANDEN TOTTEN: I hope it's slothsome. It'll catch on eventually.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

MOLLY BLOOM: You are listening to Brains On for American Public Media. I'm Molly Bloom. And my co-host today is Cristina Areu from Miami. Hi, Cristina.

CRISTINA AREU: Hi, Molly.

MOLLY BLOOM: So not only is Cristina a Brains On fan, she's also one of the voices of Brains On en Español. If you haven't checked it out yet, there are currently six episodes of Spanish Brains On. You can find it by searching for Brains On en Español at our website or wherever you get your podcasts. So Cristina, I'm curious, what was your favorite fact you learned working on Brains On en Español?

CRISTINA AREU: Learning why our shoes smell. And the reason is because our glands get bigger and they can trap more odors.

MOLLY BLOOM: Exactly. You learn so much. So, Cristina, you also have another podcast that you host as well, right?

CRISTINA AREU: Yes, it is called Catalina Stars Young and Famous with Cristina Areu and I'm Christina Areu.

MOLLY BLOOM: That makes sense. So what do you do on your podcast?

CRISTINA AREU: I interview young Latinx stars.

MOLLY BLOOM: Very cool. So who are some of the stars you've talked to recently?

CRISTINA AREU: Natalia Clement and Justina.

MOLLY BLOOM: Well, you're an accomplished podcaster, but you also happen to be a superfan of sloths. So, Cristina, what is your favorite thing about sloths?

CRISTINA AREU: That they move slow.

MOLLY BLOOM: Why do you like that about them?

CRISTINA AREU: Because it's just so cute. They move slow even though they can move fast. And they're the slowest mammal on Earth.

MOLLY BLOOM: I am also a very big sloth fan. I wrote a report on three-toed sloths back in third grade and have been in love ever since. And it turns out our listeners are obsessed too. You all send us so many sloth questions.

CRISTINA AREU: So we're going to start by answering this one.

CAMILA AND ARTHUR: Why are sloths so slow?

MOLLY BLOOM: Thanks to Camila and Arthur for that question. If there's one thing sloths are famous for, it's being slow.

CRISTINA AREU: They move slowly. They digest slowly. They even blink slowly. If a sloth were a Brains On co-host, the beginning of the show would sound like this. (SLOWLY) You're listening to Brains On, where we're serious about being curious.

MOLLY BLOOM: OK, now, we should probably stop there because that could take a while. But, yeah, sloths are slow.

CRISTINA AREU: But it's not because they're lazy. It's because they're really, really efficient.

MOLLY BLOOM: That means they use every bit of energy they have very wisely. Because it's really hard for sloths to get energy.

CRISTINA AREU: Yeah, they live in trees and eat flowers and leaves. But those things don't have a lot of nutrients. So they have to make the most of what little they get.

MOLLY BLOOM: For example, sloths have multi-chambered stomachs, like a cow, that let them slowly digest that food and squeeze out every bit of nutrition from this limited diet.

CRISTINA AREU: They also move as little as possible to save energy. And when they do move, they move slowly.

MOLLY BLOOM: They also have three extra vertebrae in their neck so they can swivel their heads almost all the way around, another neat energy-saving trick. Why move to see something when you can just turn your head?

CRISTINA AREU: Sloths have so many fascinating adaptations that let them live in this very specific tree-dwelling lifestyle.

MOLLY BLOOM: Here to tell us more about how amazingly cool sloths are is zoologist Lucy Cooke.

CRISTINA AREU: She's the founder of the Sloth Appreciation Society. Welcome, Lucy.

LUCY COOKE: Hello, hello, hello, hello.

CRISTINA AREU: What inspired you to start the Sloth Appreciation Society?

LUCY COOKE: Well, that's a very good question. I started the Sloth Appreciation Society-- it was about 10 years ago now. I felt that sloths were getting a bad rap and that people didn't really understand how amazing they are. And I still remember very clearly the first time I saw a sloth. And it kind of blew my mind, you know? And I just, I just was mesmerized by how slow they are.

You know, as a zoologist, I just wanted to understand them. But also, on top of that, they have these amazing faces that look a bit like they're humans with these wonderful smiles. So there's a lot to love.

CRISTINA AREU: We're going to ask you a few questions sent in to us from our listeners. This one is from Ivy in Austin, Texas. "How are sloths able to "swim?

LUCY COOKE: So sloths live on leaves. And when they are digesting their leaves, they generate quite a lot of gas. As if there wasn't enough reasons to love sloths, they're the only mammal that we know of that doesn't fart. And so what happens with all this gas is that it forms an in-built buoyancy device that basically makes them bob along in water.

CRISTINA AREU: Wow.

MOLLY BLOOM: Could you just describe what it looks like when they do swim?

LUCY COOKE: When sloths do swim, it's incredibly cute. Because they do a sort of a doggy paddle-- a slothy paddle, I should say, really. The legs don't do much. But the arms do a sort of slothy doggy paddle out the front, whilst they're big inflated fart-filled belly bobs and keeps them-- keeps the body--

CRISTINA AREU: Aw, so cute.

LUCY COOKE: Yeah.

MOLLY BLOOM: And do they swim as slow as they do everything else?

LUCY COOKE: No, no, that's the amazing thing.

CRISTINA AREU: What?

LUCY COOKE: I think it's something like when they swim, they're are actually three times faster than they are when they're on-- when they're crawling along the ground. So, yeah, they swim a lot faster than they crawl, which is amazing.

CRISTINA AREU: Our next question is from Lillian in California. "Are sloth babies just as slow as their parents? Or do they have more energy like human kids?"

LUCY COOKE: I would say-- you know, I don't know the answer to that. So, I mean, how wonderful to be asked a question that's so imaginative that I've not been asked it before and I don't know the answer. So thank you very much for that. I've watched sloth mothers and babies together. And the babies are also very slow like their mothers.

And the thing is about being fast is it burns a lot of energy. And when you're a little baby, you want to use all your energy for growing and getting bigger. So my guess would be that they are as slow, if not slower than their parents, say that all of their energy goes into growing into adults and isn't wasted on whizzing around unnecessarily.

CRISTINA AREU: Luke from California wrote in with this question.

LUKE: Why do you sloths have long claws?

LUCY COOKE: Well, so sloths have claws because it helps them dangle from trees. You know, sloths are just amazing energy savers. They really kind of wrote the book on sustainable living.

And one of the ways that they save a lot of energy is by hanging from trees. And the way that they dangle is using those claws, which are actually very long and curved. And so they sort of grip on like a clothesline peg and just dangle there.

CRISTINA AREU: Levi from Knoxville, Tennessee wrote in with this question.

LEVI: If sloths sleep upside down, why don't their hands let go when they're sleeping?

LUCY COOKE: They just clamp those claws tight and so I suspect that the control of that muscle that clamps that claw and that limb onto the tree, that's not controlled by their consciousness. That's something that's an unconscious control so that it can't be overridden by being asleep.

CRISTINA AREU: Marina from Milwaukee was wondering--

MARINA: How do sloths not get headaches when the blood rushes to their head?

LUCY COOKE: I mean, exactly. How? How do they do that? It's amazing, right?

My understanding is that they have the valves in their blood vessels such that they pump blood against the force-- with more efficiency against the force of gravity. And then the other thing that that's really cool is because they're upside down, they have these really huge stomachs that they eat a lot of food. And that, because they're upside down, could crush their lungs and make breathing really difficult. Scientists have discovered that they have sticky bits on their ribs that prevent the stomach from collapsing on their lungs and make breathing easier. So they have all of these extraordinary adaptations to leading an inverted life.

CRISTINA AREU: I have a question. How heavy are sloths?

LUCY COOKE: So this is surprising, right? So a lot of their size is taken up by their fur. They have a very deep and dense fur coat. And that's one of their energy-saving tactics that they-- even though they live in the tropics where it's really, really warm, they wear this really thick coat like they're an Arctic creature. And that keeps all their body warmth in.

So they seem a lot bigger. And, in fact, when you see sloths that have got wet, they look like drowned rats. I mean, they really, you can see then. And they have these sort of skinny limbs. And they have this big old belly, which is full of digesting leaves. But their limbs are long and skinny.

So they're actually really light. And a three-toed sloth is about the size of a large house cat. But it doesn't weigh anything like as much as a house cat.

MOLLY BLOOM: That is amazing. Sloths are so cool. And so, as the founder of the South Appreciation Society, do you feel like there's any lessons that humans could learn from the sloth way of life?

LUCY COOKE: You know, we're all very aware these days about the need to be much more clever and careful about our energy use and how to recycle energy and how to respect the planet. And I just think sloths are really icons of sustainable living. They've survived tens of millions of years on this planet because they're really good at saving energy. And so I think they've got a whole lot to teach us about that. And they're the original tree huggers. So they should encourage us all to go out there and hug a tree.

CRISTINA AREU: Thanks for answering our questions, Lucy.

LUCY COOKE: I've really enjoyed this interview. Really, really good questions. So I'm really impressed. Thank you everybody.

CRISTINA AREU: Thank you, Lucy.

MOLLY BLOOM: Thanks, Lucy.

[MUSIC PLAYING] Ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, Brains On.

MOLLY BLOOM: Sloths have lots of incredible adaptations or biological tricks that allow them to live the most efficient lives.

CRISTINA AREU: But there's one sloth behavior that confused scientists because it wasn't efficient at all. You see, sloths lived their whole lives up in a big tall tree.

JONATHAN PAULI: About every week, a three-toed sloth will descend. It'll climb down from that big tall tree. And it'll poop at the base of it.

MOLLY BLOOM: That's Jonathan Pauli. He's an ecologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and he studies sloths.

JONATHAN PAULI: And then it will crawl right back up. Well, this is really ritualized. By ritualized, I mean it's really every week. It's really something that they do kind of on a weekly basis.

MOLLY BLOOM: This poop behavior was surprising because it seemed to be the opposite of what sloth usually do, which is try to use as little energy as possible.

CRISTINA AREU: Climbing down a tree and then back up again takes a lot of energy. Why would they do this just to poop? Why not just poop way up in the tree and let it fall down?

MOLLY BLOOM: Plus, being on the ground is dangerous for sloths. They are much more likely to be eaten by predators like a jaguar or dog or coyote.

CRISTINA AREU: Lucky for us and all curious people everywhere, Jonathan Pauli is something of a sloth sleuth.

MOLLY BLOOM: He and his research partner, Zach Peery, started studying sloths about 10 years ago.

CRISTINA AREU: And one of the things they wanted to understand was why sloths make this weekly trek to go to the ground just a poop.

JONATHAN PAULI: It must be important. There must be a benefit if they're literally dying to do it, but also really working hard to do it too.

MOLLY BLOOM: In just a minute, Jonathan is going to walk us through a sort of scientific detective story.

JONATHAN PAULI: It is a detective story. It was a lot of fun.

MOLLY BLOOM: But first, it's time for your ears to play detective. It's the--

NARRATOR: Shhh. (WHISPERING) Mystery sound.

MOLLY BLOOM: Here it is.

[FLAPPING AND FLUTTERING]

Super short, so we will hear it again.

[FLAPPING AND FLUTTERING]

I feel like it's so short we should hear it three times. Here it is.

[FLAPPING AND FLUTTERING]

All right, Cristina, what is your guess?

CRISTINA AREU: My guess is it's something banging against something metal.

MOLLY BLOOM: Mm, wonderful, wonderful thought. Well, we're going to hear it again. So you'll have another chance to guess in just a little bit.

Here at Brains On, we've been answering your questions about the coronavirus for over a year now. This has been a tough and challenging year for everyone, but we hope you've had some moments of joy too and we'd like to hear about them.

CRISTINA AREU: We're working on a new episode and would like to hear about the things from the last year that have been a positive force in your life.

MOLLY BLOOM: Was it more time with your family, learning a new skill? Cristina, is there anything that comes to mind for you that was a good thing about the last year?

CRISTINA AREU: Going out in nature and seeing all different types of birds and animals.

MOLLY BLOOM: That is so cool. Do you have a new favorite bird or animal you've been able to see?

CRISTINA AREU: I did see a couple of Blue Jays.

MOLLY BLOOM: Oh, beautiful. Yeah, I agree. I think nature has really been a big thing for me this year too. And I really liked being outside of my backyard and seeing the seasons change has been really lovely. Listeners, we'd love for you to record your thoughts and send them to us at brainson.org/contact.

CRISTINA AREU: You can also send us a drawing, mystery sound, or a question.

MOLLY BLOOM: Like this one.

NADIA: Hi, Brains On. I'm Nadia from Phoenix, Arizona. And my question is, why do ostriches stick their head in the ground?

CRISTINA AREU: We'll answer that at the end of the show. And we'll shout out the latest group to join the Brains Honor Roll. So keep listening.

You're listening to Brains On from American Public Media. I'm Cristina.

MOLLY BLOOM: And I'm Molly. And this is the mystery sound again.

[FLAPPING AND FLUTTERING]

CRISTINA AREU: I have a new idea on what it is.

MOLLY BLOOM: Let's hear it one more time. And then I'm going to love to hear your new idea.

[FLAPPING AND FLUTTERING]

OK, one more time.

[FLAPPING AND FLUTTERING]

All right, what is your new thought?

CRISTINA AREU: It's a bird.

MOLLY BLOOM: Ooh. Did talking about birds sort of jog that in your memory?

CRISTINA AREU: Yeah.

MOLLY BLOOM: I love that.

CRISTINA AREU: And it sounds like a bird is flapping its wings really hard.

MOLLY BLOOM: Mm, excellent guess. You ready for the answer?

CRISTINA AREU: Yes.

MOLLY BLOOM: All right, here it is.

PHAEDRA MYERS: Hello, my name is Phaedra Myers and that was the mystery sound of my chicken flapping.

MOLLY BLOOM: Hey.

CRISTINA AREU: I knew it was a bird. I knew it was a bird.

MOLLY BLOOM: You got it 100%.

CRISTINA AREU: I knew it was a bird.

MOLLY BLOOM: Nice. Nice work, really great. It was a bird. It was a chicken flapping its wings really hard, just like you said.

CRISTINA AREU: Yes.

MOLLY BLOOM: Excellent ears.

CRISTINA AREU: I didn't know what type of bird it was.

MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah, I think it would be very difficult to identify what kind of bird just by the sound. It seems probably impossible. So I think you got it as right on as you possibly could. Well done.

NARRATOR: (SINGING) Brains On. [COUGHS]

MOLLY BLOOM: All right, we've solved that mystery. But now it's time to solve the case of the perilous poop journey.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

CRISTINA AREU: You'll recall our detective scientist Dr. Jonathan Pauli was on the case.

MOLLY BLOOM: He and his research partner were trying to figure out why sloths would bother making their way to the ground to poop.

CRISTINA AREU: The first clue, moths.

MOLLY BLOOM: Sloths have a kind of flightless moth living in their fur, a sloth moth, if you will.

CRISTINA AREU: Like the best roommates, the moths don't play loud music or leave their dishes in the sink. They don't harm the sloth at all. They just keep it company.

MOLLY BLOOM: And it turns out, the moth wouldn't exist without sloth poop.

CRISTINA AREU: When the sloths come down for its weekly poop, female moths will jump down onto the poop and lay their eggs.

JONATHAN PAULI: Now, those eggs develop into larvae. And those larvae then eat the poo. They actually create a really cool chamber within each sloth dung. And it'll eat that. It'll eat the sloth down for its own energy and its own nutrition. And eventually, it will eat enough and grow enough that it will pupate and it will turn into a moth. And for one beautiful fleeting moment, this moth, it has the ability to fly.

And so what does that flying moth do? Well, it drifts up into the tree. At the top of that tree is often a sloth. And they land in the fur of the sloth. And when they land in the fur of the sloth, they actually lose the ability to fly. Their wings get so beaten up that they're not really able to fly effectively. So then they're stranded. And so the cycle continues.

CRISTINA AREU: OK, the moth need a sloth to survive and make more moth babies. But it doesn't seem like the sloth is getting anything out of it.

MOLLY BLOOM: That brings us to the second clue, algae.

JONATHAN PAULI: And so what we realized is that the more moths that a sloth has on its fur, the more algae that a sloth has on its fur. Sloths carry really thick mass of green algae that make them blend in very well with the trees. The idea being that if you're really green and you carry this algae, these things like harpy eagles, which use vision to hunt, won't see you as well. So maybe you'll be able to avoid being killed.

MOLLY BLOOM: So as these moths live their whole lives in the sloths' fur, they eventually die and start decomposing, feeding the algae on the sloth's back and making it more protected from predators.

JONATHAN PAULI: Now this is not something that they're thinking of. They're not thinking, oh, I've got to go poop so I can keep my algae alive, Not, at all. It's one of those indirect benefits that those sloths that do this behavior and maintain their moths have the algae and live longer.

CRISTINA AREU: And that's how Jonathan solved the case of the perilous poop journey.

MOLLY BLOOM: And it all started with a question.

JONATHAN PAULI: It's good to ask questions. That's what we should be doing every day.

MOLLY BLOOM: And thanks to Jonathan's questions and detective work, we also know sloths are the slowest mammals in the world. But there are some other slow animals that deserve to be recognized as well.

CRISTINA AREU: Sounds like the perfect time for So You Think You Can Slow Mo.

[APPLAUSE]

SYD SLOTHWORTHY: Welcome back to So You Think You Can Slow Mo, your top time-consuming talent show. I'm your host, Syd Slothworthy. Let's meet today's contestants, Kenny Koala--

KENNY: G'day, mate.

SYD SLOTHWORTHY: --Brock the banana slug--

BROCK: Super slimed to be here, bro.

SYD SLOTHWORTHY: --and Tina the tortoise.

TINA: Hi.

SYD SLOTHWORTHY: Each of you will have a chance to showcase your slowest skills today. So are you ready for the slow mo show-off?

KENNY: Oh, you know it.

TINA: Yes.

BROCK: Bet.

SYD SLOTHWORTHY: Kenny Koala, what will you be doing for us today?

KENNY: Crikey, I reckon my best talent napping. First, I slowly scale a eucalyptus tree, find an ace spot and get comfortable. Then I'll start to doze off. [YAWNS]

I usually sleep for at least 18 hours a day. And if I get hungry, I'll just nab a bit of eucalyptus to snack on.

SYD SLOTHWORTHY: But Kenny, isn't eucalyptus poisonous?

KENNY: [YAWNS] Well, mate, to most everyone else, yes. But koalas can flush out the toxins, meaning I can eat pounds of leaves without ever getting sick. The leaves don't give me much energy though. So I have to nap.

SYD SLOTHWORTHY: Wow-wee, that's mighty impressive.

[APPLAUSE]

Thanks, Kenny.

KENNY: [SNORING]

SYD SLOTHWORTHY: Uh, Kenny? And he's fallen asleep. Well, on to the next contestant. Here to perform the world's slowest and slimiest samba, it's Brock the banana slug.

[APPLAUSE]

BROCK: I shimmy to the right. I shimmy to the left.

SYD SLOTHWORTHY: Just look at him slide across that stage it's taking him ages.

BROCK: I move at a whopping 6 and 1/2 inches per minute. And that's if I'm in a rush.

SYD SLOTHWORTHY: I'm absolutely mesmerized by your moves. What's your secret, Brock?

BROCK: It's all in the slime, dude. Not only does it help me glide, but it protects me from predators trying to cop these moves-- well, and from eating me. The slime is most poisonous, bro.

SYD SLOTHWORTHY: A defensive dancer, we love to see it.

[APPLAUSE]

Thank you, Brock. OK, last but not least, all the way from the Galapagos Islands, we have Tina the tortoise. Tina, what talent do you have for us?

TINA: [CHOMPING] I brought a snack because I'm the most gradual grazer I know.

SYD SLOTHWORTHY: Let me get this straight, your talent is eating?

TINA: [CHOMPING] Well, kind of. I have a super slow metabolism, which means it takes a long time for my body to transform food into energy. I can go up to a whole year without eating or drinking a single thing.

SYD SLOTHWORTHY: Legit lethargic, that is one slow stomach.

TINA: And now we wait. This could take a while.

SYD SLOTHWORTHY: Looks like that's all the time we have for today. We'll check back in with Tina in a couple of weeks. Thanks for watching So You Think You Can Slow Mo.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

MOLLY BLOOM: Sloths aren't lazy. They just live extremely energy efficient lives.

CRISTINA AREU: They have all sorts of amazing adaptations that allow them to live happily and slowly up in the trees.

MOLLY BLOOM: Three-toed sloths make a dangerous pooping journey once a week, but they do it in support of their moth friends and algae camouflage.

CRISTINA AREU: Just like sloths, other animals use their slow nature as a way to survive.

SANDEN TOTTEN: Wow, these facts are totally slothsome. Anybody? [SCOFFS] Come on.

CRISTINA AREU: Oh, Sanden.

MOLLY BLOOM: That's it for this episode of Brains On.

CRISTINA AREU: Brains On is produced by Menaka Wilhelm, Sanden Totten, Marc Sanchez, and Molly Bloom.

MOLLY BLOOM: We had production help from Ruby Guthrie and Christina Lopez and engineering help from Veronica Rodriguez and Alejandro Juan. Special thanks to Cathy Areu, Lupe De Los Santos, Rosie DuPont, Paul Guthrie, and Jack Silver Nagel.

CRISTINA AREU: Brains On is a nonprofit Public Radio program. You can support the show at brainson.org/fans.

MOLLY BLOOM: There you can find links to donate or join our free fan club or check out our new Brains On merch.

CRISTINA AREU: We now have Brains On shirts, baseball hats, and face masks.

MOLLY BLOOM: And you can buy the Brains On book there too. That's brainson.org/fans.

CRISTINA AREU: Now, before we go, it's time for our moment of "um."

ALL: Um. Um. Um. Um. Um. Um. Um. Um.

NADIA: Why do ostriches stick their head in the ground?

SUSHMA REDDY: That's a very good question. So my name is Sushma Reddy. And I am the Breckenridge Chair of Ornithology at the Bell Museum that's at the University of Minnesota.

Ostriches don't do that for-- to avoid things. What they're doing when they bury their heads is probably one of at least three things. One is that they actually lay their eggs on the ground in a nest that the males scrapes out.

And they lay eggs in this nest. And so they use their bills to turn the eggs and as they're incubating them and as they're taking care of them. And so they're probably bending down to turn eggs.

Another reason why they might do that is to eat, right? So they're eating by bending down. But sometimes they're also ingesting little bits of rock. And they use that to help in digestion of the things that they eat. They eat plants mainly. And so they need a little bit of extra help to kind of get that grinding in their stomachs.

Finally, they have really long necks. And so they often kind of lift their heads up and curve it down to look around so they can get different angles. They have really good eyesight. And so using their necks in different angles will help them to really get a good view of what's around them, if there are predators around, and help them to see what they need to see.

ALL: Um. Um. Um.

MOLLY BLOOM: I'm looking at this list from every possible viewpoint and it looks amazing. This is the Brains Honor Roll. These are the incredible listeners who share their questions, ideas, mystery sounds, drawings, and high fives with us.

[LISTING HONOR ROLL]

We'll be back soon with more answers to your questions.

CRISTINA AREU: Thanks for listening.

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