Among the greatest mysteries of the tropical rainforest are the pooping habits of sloths. Really. Those furry, slow-moving tree dwellers almost never descend from the safety of the tree tops—except ...

While humans wouldn’t be very happy to find that organisms were growing on their skin, particularly fungi, algae, and insects, it works out pretty well for sloths. Sloths may be hosting entire ...

Most of us are familiar with sloths, the bear-like animals that hang from trees, live life in the slow lane, take a month to digest a meal and poop just once a week. Their closest living relatives are ...

The apparent docility and friendliness of “smiling” sloths have made them tourist darlings, but have also put a target on their backs. The rise in trafficking of these animals led the governments of ...

Every October 20, the world slows down (at least in spirit) for International Sloth Day. It’s the perfect excuse to celebrate these tree-dwelling, algae-wearing, slow-motion wonders. While they’ve ...

Ancient sloths ranged in size from tiny climbers to ground-dwelling giants. Now, researchers report this body size diversity was largely shaped by sloths’ habitats, and that these animals’ precipitous ...

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American Everybody loves sloths, and whenever we talk ...

Heather Ewart does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond ...