# Camels can swim, and so can sloths

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camels-can-swim-and-so-can-sloths/776703>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [January 9, 2017, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camels-can-swim-and-so-can-sloths/776703 "2017-01-09T05:53:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![LAV25](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/97f17d/32.png) [@LAV25](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LAV25)\
**Post date:** [January 9, 2017, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camels-can-swim-and-so-can-sloths/776703/1 "2017-01-09T05:53:46Z")

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Just read the “Is the Camel the only animal that can’t swim?” column, and it’s suggested towards the end that sloths can’t swim.

Saw on cable a few years ago that they can, and this clip says they can actually swim faster than they can move on land:

[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/vXjSYRp-kkM/hqdefault.jpg "CRAZY SWIMMING SLOTHS - Does a Sloth Sink or Swim?") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXjSYRp-kkM)

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**Author:** ![EdelweissPirate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8491ac/32.png) [@EdelweissPirate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdelweissPirate)\
**Post date:** [January 9, 2017, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camels-can-swim-and-so-can-sloths/776703/2 "2017-01-09T07:49:45Z")

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I raced here to make the same point, but LAV25 beat me to it. That said, I have another interesting tidbit: a long time ago, there were sloths that lived primarily or exclusively in the water: [Thalassocnus - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalassocnus)

They’re generally referred to as “marine sloths,” a phrase which makes me envision a bunch of sloths with high-and-tight haircuts shouting, “oorah!” or maybe flying Harrier VTOL fighters.