When it comes to the natural world, we tend to think only the strongest, the biggest, and the fastest creatures survive. However, that's not always the case in the animal kingdom. Some creatures manage to do very well by simply taking it slow.

Three-toed sloths, for example, spend their time literally hanging out in the forests of South America. They move so slowly through the trees that algae—a kind of plant that grows on wet rocks—grows in their fur. This, however, actually works to their advantage, as the green spots make them look to hunters like giant green plants rather than anything tasty. It's the perfect disguise!

Another advantage that can come with being slow is long life. Giant tortoises are the slowest of the slow in the reptile kingdom. But the fact that they burn energy so slowly means that they can live for far longer than most creatures can—up to 200 years!

Slow also doesn't necessarily mean harmless, either. Seahorses, for example, use their lack of speed to be highly effective hunters. They move so slowly, drifting along with the current, that they can easily hunt their food without being noticed. When they get close enough, they snap up their food before it even realizes what has happened.

You see—in the animal kingdom, slow sometimes can mean successful!

論及自然世界，我們常會以為只有最強壯、最龐大且最快速的生物才能生存。然而，在動物王國裡卻不一定總是如此。某些生物以慢慢來的方式，設法生存得很好。

例如三趾樹懶，真的是將時間花在懸掛於南美洲森林而已。牠們穿越樹林的速度，緩慢到連藻類（生長於潮濕石塊的植物）都能生長在牠們的毛皮。不過，這種情況其實變成牠們的優勢，因為綠色斑點反而讓牠們在獵食者的眼裡看起來像巨大的綠色植物，而非可口的食物。簡直是完美的偽裝！

而動作緩慢的另一個優點，就是長壽。巨龜可說是爬蟲類王國裡慢到不能再慢的代表。但事實上，牠們燃燒熱量的速度相當地慢，因此存活時間遠超過多數生物─可高達200年！

而且，動作慢也不見得無害。以海馬為例，牠們運用缺乏速度的特質，成為超有效率的捕獵者。牠們緩慢行動，隨洋流漂移，因此可在不被注意的情況下，輕鬆捕獵食物。當牠們靠獵物夠近的時候，就會在對方還沒反應過來前先大快朵頤。

所以你看看─在動物王國裡，動作慢有時是成功的表現！