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Shasta Ground Sloths

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The skeletal remains of a Shasta ground sloth. (Photo courtesy The Jesse Earl Hyde Collection, Case Western Reserve University)

Close your eyes, and imagine a sloth. What do you see? You’re probably picturing a preternaturally cute mammal moving ever so slowly through the rainforest, using its long claws to cling to tree branches while it lazily munches on twigs and leaves. Now, imagine your sloth growing to the size of a grizzly bear, or even an elephant, and you have one of the now-extinct giant ground sloths of North America. What were these Ice Age creatures like? And what have they taught us about the past?