The three-toed sloth is equally one of the cutest and weirdest animals in the world. Being one of the globe's slowest land-based creatures, it's a marvel how any of them survive the forests and jungles of South and Central America. Maybe some of them are swinging their claws around, but considering how slow they are, we find that unlikely. In fact, it's actually mostly camouflage that protects the sloth from airborne and ground-based predators. Also, did you know that sloths hold tiny ecosystems worth of insects within their fur — everything from mosquitoes and sand flies to lice and ticks. Oh, no … did we just ruin sloths for everyone? Quick, on with the adorable and weird sloth tattoos.
That's right, we've gathered together 20 tattoos featuring nature's slowest moving (and arguably laziest) mammal, the sloth. In recent years, the sloth has taken on a cult-like popularity. This is thanks, in no small part, to the sloth's recent appearances in pop culture, particularly in the Ice Age and Zootopia movies. But something had to drive those ingenious animators and story tellers to create sloth characters. We think it has to do with the sloth's fluffy trappings and absolutely chill demeanor. It's something we can all aspire to, right? Continue aspiring with some ink inspiration as we show off 20 of the cutest, coolest, and weirdest sloth tattoos around.
Adorable Sloth
Of course, at the heart of a sloth tattoo is something that brings on the cute. Here's an example of that, thanks to artist Dominic Achilles of Germany. The shading and coloring are especially robust here, and the line work makes the piece stand out.
Hungry Sloth
This is almost like a meme committed to a permanent canvas. Inked by Anthony Lennox of Wycombe, England, it displays an incredible amount of detail and attitude. That's something we never thought we'd say about a sloth (it actually looks hungry), but here we are.
Storybook Sloth
Thanks to artist Mirka Misja of Warsaw, Poland, we now know what our favorite sloth in a storybook is. The line and dot work on this piece are nothing short of incredible, making for one of the most detailed black and white tattoos we've ever seen.
Sepia Sloth
There doesn't seem to be anything particularly stand-out about this tattoo, but it has been expertly inked by "Steveo" of Lucky 7 Tattoo in Philadelphia. We love the all-sepia, old photo-style artwork here, and the level of detail in the line work is incredibly deep.
Sid the Sloth
We have to admit, we're not huge fans of the Ice Age series, and this sloth character, Sid, kind of freaks us out. However, with respect to the fans out there, here's a Sid tattoo from Infinite Ink Tattoo in Pensacola, Florida. Don't tell us you wouldn't run away from this thing if you walked across it.
Rosie the Sloth
Leave it to sloths to lead us to a tattoo that we wouldn't even come close to thinking up: a sloth as Rosie the Riveter. Inked by an artist named Lara at Brisbane Bodyart in Australia, it's got an awful lot of detail while nailing that American traditionalist style.
Hanging Sloth
We certainly expected to see more tattoos showing a sloth hanging on a tree, but there weren't that many. Inked by Kendall Vader of Boise, Idaho, it displays an incredible amount of detail and superb line work — it's practically scientific.
Cartoon Sloth
While generally all of these sloth tattoos could be considered cartoonish, this one has to take the cake. Brought to us by artist Luka Vučetić in Croatia, the line work is absolutely top notch and the illustration is brimming with personality — extreme chill, to be exact.
Teacup Sloth
We have a "Cute Sloth" listed here, but this one may win out in that category as well. Someone had the bright idea of getting a tattoo of a tiny sloth inside a teacup, taking a warm tea bath, and we just can't handle the cute much less the expert color work by Love Hate Social Club in London, England.
Modern Sloth
Wrapped in a "new millennium" triangle design, this line work sloth definitely belongs to someone born in or after 1985, if you know what we mean. Inked by Joshua Newman of Akron, Ohio, we particularly love the dot and color work about this piece.
Flash the Sloth
Here's a much more likable cartoon sloth, in our humble opinion: Flash from the 2016 Disney movie Zootopia. Done with amazing accuracy and attention to detail by Studio Thirteen Tattoo in Cocoa Village, Florida, we're also huge fans of the shading and coloring.
Snowboarder Sloth
This is probably the coolest sloth tattoo by default … because it's a snowboarder, and snowboarding is inherently cool. Done by Dexterity Ink in Wrexham, Wales, this piece is brimming with color and attitude, as if the sloth is saying, "deal with it."
Majestic Sloth
We love this tattoo for how it depicts the sloth as a majestic beast rather than simply some lazy loaf of an animal. This is largely thanks to amazing line, color, and shading work by Xpressions Tattoo in Adelaide, Australia, making for a portrait-worthy mammal.
Textbook Sloth
No one can deny that this sloth tattoo looks like it could appear in an academic textbook. Inked by Lee Humphries based in London, England, the line and dot work here is utterly amazing — chock full of detail and precise style.
Cutesy Sloth
It must be the dopey look on its face, but this is one darn cute sloth. This one was done by an artist known just as Jes in Kent, England, and its stylized line work combined with some clever shading make for one of the most adorable sloth tattoos we've seen.
Hilarious Sloth
It looks like this sloth has been having too good of a time. There's something about the extremely chill look on the sloth's face that's just too funny. Thanks to Gábor Berettyán in Budapest for this hilariously chilled-out tattoo.
Sleepy Sloth
Just look at this sleepy little buddy — actually this might be one of the cutest we've seen, despite the others. Inked by an artist known as Kay PhD in Wrexham, Wales, the color and shading here are absolutely on point. However, this is all about the simply dreamy expression on this sloth's face.
Mermaid Sloth
Well, and here we thought we've seen everything. This is apparently a mermaid sloth, according to the person who received this marvelously weird piece of ink art. Done by Marta Podobińska in Gdańsk, Poland, we love the shading and detail on this piece as well as the goofy premise.
Swole Sloth
Who said sloths are lazy? This one here is pumping iron! Expertly inked by St. Clair's Tattoo in Edinburgh, Scotland, we love how laid-back this shredded sloth appears with a barbell over his chest, as if it's lifting with no effort at all. This one is cute and strong!
Vacation Sloth
This sloth is our mood in a huge way — basically all of the time. We honestly want to hang out with this sloth … and drink whatever he's drinking. Thanks to Outer Limits Tattoo in Long Beach, California, for this excellently colorful and chill tattoo.
