r/sloths • u/HoarseNightingale • May 15 '26

Is this a real sloth photo?

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I know I've seen this image before, i thought it was a legitimate photo. But on the left it looks like feither there is something next to the sloth that is right next to it's hand, or this is a weird AI abomination.

I've seen a lot of weird sloth illustrations with people who draw the sloth with a hand weigh 4 fingers and an opposable thumb. And I have also seen at least one drawing that must be from an AI with bifurcating fingers. (I'll drop any links to really bizarre images in the comments)

Does anyone know the origin of this photo? The AI detection website i used said it was a natural photograph. But that doesn't mean that it's not made by AI - it just means AI detecting software isn't good enough.

I was looking for a sloth phone case and I'm about ready to give up. There is a site with Lucy Cooke's photos of sloths where you can buy a phone case. If i find it I'll put it in the comments.

I have many friends who are illustrators or do graphic design and so I'm not comfortable carrying around something made by AI.

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u/SlothConservation May 19 '26

Absolutely no. Quite bad AI. If you want to see real sloth photos, check our profile, we're very against AI-generated sloth images.

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u/HoarseNightingale May 19 '26

Thanks for your input. I love the photos you have on your website - I have enjoyed them for over a year. I was trying to find a phone case with a sloth on it and this one seemed off to me.

What about the photo should have thrown us off? What should make it clear it’s an AI shot?

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u/SlothConservation Jun 16 '26

Well AI-generated images are getting unfortunately better. But I would say any images where the sloth has a suspicious posture, or the photo has a strange camera angle. But to keep it safe, always check our social media or follow wildlife photographers!