These Massive Tunnels Were Dug by a Giant Sloth That Lived 10,000 Years Ago in South America
A cave in the state of Rondonia explored by geologist Amilcar Adamy from the Brazilian Geological Survey. It is the largest known palaeoburrow in the Amazon, and is twice the size of the second largest palaeburrow in Brazil. Adamy couldn’t think of any natural process that would create such a deliberate-looking structure. Photo: Amilcar Adamy
Frank found his first tunnel in the early 2000s and learned that another scientist had coined the name “palaeoburrows” for them. When he couldn’t come up with an explanation for their existence, this made him look for further tunnels to eventually figure out the truth. As of today, Frank and other researchers have found over 1,500 tunnels in the state of Rio Grande do Sul alone, as well as hundreds more in Santa Catarina. Many of these tunnels stretch for hundreds of feet and have numerous branches, and the largest one is a whopping 2,000 feet long, six feet tall and up to five feet wide!
“In these burrows, sometimes you get the feeling that there’s some creature waiting around the next curve – that’s how much it feels like a prehistoric animal den, ” Frank wrote.
Eventually, he did find enough evidence to convince him that the paleoburrows were most probably dug by the giant ground sloth, the second-largest prehistoric land mammal next to the mammoth. The primary evidence is the deep claw marks found by Frank on the walls of paleoburrows, like the ones you see on the first picture above. Most scientists now agree that they could only have been made by a giant ground sloth (Megatherium), and not by smaller giant armadillos as some others have suggested.
Frank found his first tunnel in the early 2000s and learned that another scientist had coined the name “palaeoburrows” for them. When he couldn’t come up with an explanation for their existence, this made him look for further tunnels to eventually figure out the truth. As of today, Frank and other researchers have found over 1,500 tunnels in the state of Rio Grande do Sul alone, as well as hundreds more in Santa Catarina. Many of these tunnels stretch for hundreds of feet and have numerous branches, and the largest one is a whopping 2,000 feet long, six feet tall and up to five feet wide!
“In these burrows, sometimes you get the feeling that there’s some creature waiting around the next curve – that’s how much it feels like a prehistoric animal den, ” Frank wrote.
Eventually, he did find enough evidence to convince him that the paleoburrows were most probably dug by the giant ground sloth, the second-largest prehistoric land mammal next to the mammoth. The primary evidence is the deep claw marks found by Frank on the walls of paleoburrows, like the ones you see on the first picture above. Most scientists now agree that they could only have been made by a giant ground sloth (Megatherium), and not by smaller giant armadillos as some others have suggested.
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31 October 2023
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