Why can't we leave them alone? The troubling truth about selfies with sloths

How the trappings of fame are causing problems for the placid mammal that has become a star of internet memes and Instagram

Nobody seems to know quite how the sloth became the rock star of the animal kingdom. From high in the Latin American rainforest, the absurd mammal is the focus of a frenzied obsession that shows no sign of abating. Sloths are on bank notes, adverts, T-shirts, internet memes and Instagram fan pages.

People are obsessed," says Costa Rica's president, Carlos Alvarado Quesada, when asked why people have fallen in love with the creature. The sloth is quite a unique animal. It's also very related to the forest. I believe it's the elegance of the movement."