History Main / SluggishSloths

This is actually TruthInTelevision; sloths have an extremely low metabolic rate, which leads to them moving at a languid, sluggish pace through the trees. Indeed, they, on average, travel 41 yards per day -- which is less than half the length of a football field. They are also cold-blooded, unusual among mammals, so they have to spend much of their time basking in the sunlight to warm up and save energy.

Note that in fiction, the types of sloths featured are usually three-toed sloth; two-toed sloths will rarely ever appear. This could be because three-toed sloths have a more distinctive appearance, particularly the facial "mask" with dark markings around the eyes. If prehistory is involved, the giant ground sloth ''Megatherium'' is quite common, though the smaller ground sloth ''Megalonyx'' may turn up.

Note that in fiction, the type of sloth featured is usually the three-toed sloth; the two-toed sloth will rarely ever appear. This could be because three-toed sloths have a more distinctive appearance, particularly the facial "mask" with dark markings around the eyes. If prehistory is involved, the giant ground sloth ''Megatherium'' is quite common, though the smaller ground sloth ''Megalonyx'' may turn up.

Note that in fiction, the type of sloth featured is usually the three-toed sloth, specifically the brown-throated sloth; the two-toed sloth will rarely ever appear. This could be because three-toed sloths have a more distinctive appearance, particularly the facial "mask" with dark markings around the eyes. If prehistory is involved, the giant ground sloth ''Megatherium'' is quite common, though the smaller ground sloth ''Megalonyx'' may turn up.

Note that in fiction, the type of sloth featured is usually the three-toed sloth, specifically the brown-throated sloth; the two-toed sloth will rarely ever appear. This could be because brown-throated sloths have a more distinctive appearance, particularly the facial "mask" with dark markings around the eyes. If prehistory is involved, the giant ground sloth ''Megatherium'' is quite common, though the smaller ground sloth ''Megalonyx'' may turn up.

Note that in fiction, the type of sloth featured is usually the three-toed sloth; the two-toed sloth will rarely ever appear. This could be because three-toed sloths have a more distinctive appearance, particularly the facial "mask" with dark markings around the eyes. If prehistory is involved, the giant ground sloth ''Megatherium'' is quite common, though the smaller ground sloth ''Megalonyx'' may turn up.

* ''VideoGame/TheMagicSchoolBus'': ''Explores the Rainforest'' has two in-game cartoons that emphasize the sluggishness of sloths. In one cartoon, a pair of sloths are playing Go-Fish, and it takes ''a whole day'' for one of them to even speak, with the cartoon ending with a ToBeContinued. In the other, a sloth is shown sleeping through an interview about a fallen tree.

Note that in fiction, the type of sloth featured is usually the three-toed sloth; the two-toed sloth will rarely ever appear. If set in prehistoric times, the giant ground sloth ''Megatherium'' is quite common, though the smaller ground sloth ''Megalonyx'' may turn up.

* ''VideoGame/{{Pokemon}}'' has the Slakoth family. Slakoth sleeps around for more than twenty hours a day and does not move very much. It also has the ability Truant, which means that it doesn't move every other turn. Its evolution Vigoroth subverts the trope, being unable to sit still for a minute and gaining Vital Spirit (which prevents it from being put to sleep) in the process, whilst Vigoroth's evolution Slaking also plays the trope straight, being considered one of the laziest of Pokemon, and regaining Truant.

* ''Manga/SetonAcademyJoinThePack'': Miyubi the sloth girl; any sort of exertion will cause her to ''die''. [[TheyKilledKennyAgain Don't worry, she'll be fine]]. Unlike most examples, however, she actually tries to work hard and is quite intelligent, [[ShownTheirWork with her sluggishness explained by her slow metabolic rate and poikilothermy]].

* ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'': [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-2774 SCP-2774]], the Slow Burn Sloth causes this effect in humans. It looks like a person in a sloth costume that appears in non-live media, and any unfortunate victims who see it have a 40% chance of eventually turning slothlike after 40 hours -- [[AndIMustScream losing all cognitive functions and ability to make decisions except for a 150-second lucidity period every 24 hours]].

This extends to their naming. Their German name is Faultier ("lazy animal"), whilst its name is old English for "Slow".

* ''Manga/SetonAcademyJoinThePack'': Miyubi the sloth girl; any sort of exertion will cause her to ''die''. [[TheyKilledKennyAgain Don't worry, she'll be fine]]. However, she's a more accurate example of this trope (dying and coming back to life aside), [[ShownTheirWork as her sluggishness is explained by her slow metabolic rate and poikilothermy]].

* ''Manga/SetonAcademyJoinThePack'': Miyubi the sloth girl; any sort of exertion will cause her to ''die''. [[TheyKilledKennyAgain Don't worry, she'll be fine]]. Unlike most examples, however, she's a more accurate example of this trope (dying and coming back to life aside), [[ShownTheirWork as her sluggishness is explained by her slow metabolic rate and poikilothermy]].

* ''Manga/SetonAcademyJoinThePack'': Miyubi the sloth girl; any sort of exertion will cause her to ''die''. [[TheyKilledKennyAgain Don't worry, she'll be fine]]. Unlike most examples, however, she's a more accurate example of this trope (dying and coming back to life aside), [[ShownTheirWork her sluggishness is explained by her slow metabolic rate and poikilothermy]].

* ''Manga/SetonAcademyJoinThePack'': Miyubi the sloth girl; any sort of exertion will cause her to ''die''. [[TheyKilledKennyAgain Don't worry, she'll be fine]].

* ''WesternAnimation/PatEtStanley'': Stuart the Sloth is a [[{{Sleepyhead}} narcoleptic]] and has a RunningGag of falling asleep at the most inopportune times.

* ''Manga/SetonAcademyJoinThePack'': Miyubi the sloth girl somewhat takes this UpToEleven, as any sort of exertion will cause her to ''die''. [[TheyKilledKennyAgain Don't worry, she'll be fine]].

This is actually TruthInTelevision; sloths have an extremely low metabolic rate, which leads to them moving at a languid, sluggish pace through the trees. Indeed, they, on average, travel 41 yards per day -- which is less than half the length of a football field. They are also cold-blooded, so they have to spend much of their time basking in the sunlight to warm up and save energy.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'': Flash Slothmore plays with this trope. He has a slow way of speaking and, despite his insistence that he moves faster than your typical sloth, he's ridiculously slow on foot. However, it's eventually revealed that he's shown to enjoy the more fast-paced world of street racing.

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