For years scientists have assumed that sloths don’t fart, believing that the methane produced by their slow digestive system was simply absorbed into their bloodstreams and breathed out through their mouths. Now, researchers have captured what’s likely the first-ever footage of a farting sloth. The video was shared by zoologist Lucy Cooke and wildlife veterinarian Andrés Sáenz Bräutigam on Instagram. “Yes, sloths do fart, and I may have just witnessed the first documented case,” Cooke wrote in the post. When Bräutigam, a vet at the Toucan Rescue Ranch in Costa Rica, discovered that sloths do indeed fart, he wasn’t surprised. “It’s not as if sloths have to worry about the social embarrassment of farting,” he said. Contrary to popular belief, sloths are actually very gassy creatures, some of the biggest methane producers out there. Some studies even claim they produce more gas than cows do, which are much heavier. Unlike cows, which belch out most of their excess methane, sloths have an incredibly strong esophagus, which means they can’t vomit or burp. Since the gas has to go somewhere, they fart. What Bräutigam and his researchers learned is that they had to place a sloth in a warm bath for a short time to help stimulate them to let loose of their gas. If you're wondering what sloth farts smell like, Bräutigam described them as "silent but deadly."
