Long before today’s tree-dwelling sloths, a 4-ton giant roamed South America — and it may have stood and fought like a bear.

A sloth perches languidly on a branch in one of Costa Rica’s vast forest preserves. (Gabriella Chavez/WUFT News) LA FORTUNA, COSTA RICA — Near a lively stretch of Highway 142, one of Costa Rica’s ...

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 ...

Sloth World is rapidly approaching a grand opening on Orlando’s International Drive, its executives say. The 7,500-square-foot facility will be home to more than 40 sloths living in a ...

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 ...

Many thousands of years ago, the Sarasota-Manatee area was home to a diverse mix of now-extinct mammals—most notably, saber-tooth cats, mastodons and giant ground sloths called Megatherium, which ...

Credit: flickr You wouldn’t expect it from an animal that barely moves, but sloths are excellent swimmers. They use a sort of doggy paddle and can hold their breath for up to 40 minutes. Water ...

Defecating exposes sloths to predators on the jungle floor. An unexpected ally benefits, and returns the favor. A brown-throated three-toed sloth peers over a tree's buttress root while defecating on ...