Meet the Animal Named After an Insult: the Inimitable Sloth

A primer on a mammal that has survived for 40 million years

Brown-throated three-toed sloth in Cahuita National Refuge, Costa Rica. Image by ©life+wild.

Has anyone ever called you a sloth?

Maybe your side of the dorm wasn’t as tidy as your college roommate’s because you were too busy mastering D&D. Ergo, your roommate teased you about being a sloth.