Meet the creatures that thrive in the dark

An exhibition at London's Natural History Museum looks at how animals move, hunt and feed in places where no light ever shines

The pale-throated sloth, from the northern Amazon forests, has evolved in an unusual way to survive the dangers of swinging through trees in total darkness. The nocturnal bear-like creature has developed a sense of smell so sensitive it can tell whether branches nearby are emitting whiffs of sap or not.

"That allows them to swing only on to branches that are healthy," said Professor Geoff Boxshall of the Natural History Museum in London. "They can avoid grabbing one that is sapless and dead, which might break, causing them to fall out of a tree and injure themselves. Thus they can swing safely through forests in complete darkness."

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