Exhausted German scientists surrender after 3-year battle to make sloth move

[BIG JIM]

January 24, 2007 11:58 AM EST
JENA, Germany - 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 consigned 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.

Mats was not even tempted by cucumbers or plates of homemade spaghetti.

"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 reports, he is very comfortable.

[Ms. Alabama]

Well if ya ask me, the scientist was wasting its time anyway. Sloths are very SLOW, stubborn animals in the first place. They aren't going to move unless they just have to.

[Bluebyrd]

lol maybe they didn't motivate him properly! maybe if mats had a mandy sloth at the end of that poll, he'd be moving