Atty

Down at the zoo the animals called out.

They roared, squeaked and neighed and stomped all about.

The zoo keepers scratched their heads in dismay.

What was making the animals act this way?

 They cleaned out their pens and gave them fresh food,

but all of the animals stayed in their mood.

For the problem was small and hard to see as it flew by.

The problem was none other than the dreaded horse fly. 

The horse fly is mean, the horse fly is scary!

The horse fly bites the animals, even those that are hairy.

Now among all the chaos going on at the zoo,

there was calm in the sloth pen which had a long queue.

For a new arrival had been born a few weeks ago,

a sloth named Atty who was now on show.

Sloths are slow and sleep most of the day.

Which makes them the perfect horse fly prey.

Not quick enough to swat them and give them a whack,

No fast moving mouths that could make them a snack.

The horse fly buzzed over towards the long queue,

She was going to bite the sloths and there was nothing they could do. 

Now sloths have algae on their fur that turns them green.

It hides them from predators so they can’t be seen.

The horse fly however sees animals by the heat they give off 

Which was unfortunate for our slow moving sloths.

She flew down on a sloth and gave her a nip,

She drank up the blood sip after sip. 

Now Atty who was nearly always asleep,

Had been watching this horse fly without making a peep.

Atty had seen his mum eat leaves and the occasional bug,

But this one was fast and Atty was slow like a slug.

Atty grabbed up at a flower covered in honeydew,

He wiped it along his claws and then let out a coo.

The horse fly looked up and wanted a bite,

She buzzed over cackling “what a delight.”

Now because Atty was clinging to his mums big soft tummy,

The horse fly didn’t see him, only his mummy.

Atty moved slowly while the horse fly got ready to bite,

But it wasn’t Attys mummy that got the awful fright!

It was the horse fly now stuck on Attys honeydew claws.

Now making her way to Attys now open jaws.

And so Atty saved the zoo from the dreaded horse fly.

So now everyone can get rest and close their eyes.

So next time you pop in to Edinburgh Zoo,

Look out for Atty and say “Well done you!”