The 8 Slowest Animals in the World

While animals like the cheetah and the pilgrim falcon show their graceful speed, the 8 slowest animals in the world are content to have fun and crawl, sometimes moving to a few feet per minute.

These creatures, so unusual in their behavior, have gained names synonymous with lethargy. They embody the embodiment of the tranquility of nature. Join us while we know each other with these quiet animals, presenting the various spectrum of rhythm and provision of nature.

Lazy

The lazy people spend their days in the summits of the peaks, barely moving. Blame their lethargy on their incredibly low metabolic rate. This slow metabolism means that they only need a few leaves and twigs for nutrition. They crawl at a frantic pace of 1 foot per minute, reports National Geographic, moving so slowly that algae develop on their coats.

Although the locomotion of a laziness seems similar to other mammals, German zoologists have found that their anatomical structure is very different. They have very long arms but very short shoulder blades. This gives them a large range without moving too much, allowing them to save energy while making the same movements as other animals.

Starfish

The starfish, commonly called starfish, are hard on top with many small wavy tube feet at the bottom. These tiny feet help the starfish to grasp the surfaces and move, but they do not move very quickly.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an adult sunflower star can move to the swirling rate of one meter (about one meter) per minute using the 15,000 of its useful tube feet.

Giant turtle

There are many subspecies of giant turtles that live on various islands, but the most famous is the giant galapagos turtle. The largest kind of living turtle, galapagos can live for 150 years or more.

Charles Darwin studied turtles when he was on the galapagos in 1835. He thought they were moving relatively quickly. “A big one, I found in rhythm, I walked at the rate of 60 meters in 10 minutes, or 360 an hour,” he wrote in zoology notes. “At this rate, the animal traveled four miles during the day and would have little time to rest.”

However, Stephen Blake, coordinator of the Galápagos Turtles Ecology Program, told BBC that their turtles move a maximum of two kilometers (1.2 thousand) per hour, suggesting that “Darwin probably pursued them”.

Banana slug

There is not much agreement on which animal is the slowest absolute, but the biologist of the University of East Kentucky, Brantery Allan Branson, voted for the banana slug to win the best honors. “A large banana slug was observed to cover 6.5 inches in 120 minutes,” he wrote. “At this rate, a turtle would seem fleet feet.”

The banana slugs move by propeling themselves along their only muscular foot. The glands on this foot secrete the dry mucus granules which then absorb the surrounding water to transform into mud.

This slippery substance helps lubricate their path while they are slowly crawling. The banana slug also has a mucus cap at the end of its tail, which it can use to generate an elastic cord of slime to recall high places.

Garden snail

When you only have one foot, it is difficult to move very quickly. The common garden snail has a flat muscle organ which propels it extremely slowly along its deliberate path.

To help him move, the snail releases a mucus flow to reduce friction, reports the Dudley zoo. This is why you always see a trail of mud in the wake of a garden snail. The top speed of a garden snail is 1/2 inch (1.3 centimeters) per second, but it can move as slowly as 1/10 in thumb (0.28 centimeter).

Slow Loris

Are slow loises really slow? For the most part, Loris is a lollygagger. The animal is mainly deliberate in its actions until it goes after the prey. Then he strikes a lightning speed. He stands, entering a brand with his feet and throws his body forward to catch his prey with both hands, reports Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.

This small animal can look incredibly cuddly and cute, but the slow loris is the only poisonous primate in the world. The fur creature has toxins in its mouth and releases toxins of a gland on the side of its elbows. They distribute the toxic mixture over their fur to dissuade the predators or continue them with a deadly bite.

Actinia

Regarding corals and jellyfish, there are more than 1,000 species of sea anemone in the world. These colorful and interesting underwater creatures use their lonely foot – called a pedal disc – and mucus secretions to attach to shells, plants, rocks or coral reefs.

They rarely detach themselves, waiting for the fish to get close enough for lunch, but when they move, their rhythm is about 4/10 inches per hour. The researchers were able to capture their movement with accelerated photography. They generally move in response to predators or under unfavorable conditions.

Manatee

Compared to some of these other animals, the manure is relatively rapid. Given their weight and disdain for movement, the lamantins are generally very slow.

The gentle ocean giant – also known as sea cow – can reach up to 13 feet long and weigh up to 3,500 pounds. With so many heft, it is not surprising that the lamantins are rarely in a hurry. They usually move at a speed of only a few kilometers per hour, but if they really need to go somewhere, they can speed up the pace up to 20 miles per hour.

Lamantins generally remain in shallow waters. They don’t really have real predators. Sharks or whales could eat them, but because they do not live in the same water, it rarely happens. Their greatest threat is from humans, but thanks to solid conservation efforts, the West Indian Lamantin in Florida has been removed from the list of endangered species in 2017.

Why this counts for Treehugger

Understanding the behavior and needs of our colleagues creatures is the key to protecting biodiversity and housing conservation. We hope that the more we learn about incredible species like those on this list, the more we will be motivated to help them protect them.