A GIANT sloth was a bloodthirsty meat eater who once feasted on early humans, scientists have discovered.
The 12-foot-tall Mylodon, which weighed 2.2 tons and went extinct 10,000 years ago, was previously considered a vegetarian like its sluggish modern cousins.
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But now experts at the Natural History Museum have found that the elephant-sized beast actually tastes flesh – and may even have munched on humans.
Researcher Dr Julia Tejada said: “We now have strong evidence contradicting the long-held presumption that all sloths were herbivores.
“Whether they were sporadic scavengers or opportunistic meat eaters is impossible to determine, but this is the first direct evidence that the ancient sloths were in fact omnivores.
“This requires a reassessment of the entire ecological structure of ancient mammal communities in South America, as sloths have been a major component of these ecosystems for the past 34 million years. “
Researchers analyzed chemicals stored in the hair of giant sloths and found telltale amino acids found in the follicles of meat eaters.
They believe the beast ate a balanced diet of meat and vegetables to maintain its enormous body size.
It is not known why the giant sloth went extinct. It is not believed to have been hunted to extinction as the humans of the time would have found it difficult to kill him.
The beast may have succumbed to climate change or new diseases.
The six living sloth species are all relatively small plant-eating arborealists, restricted to the rainforests of Central and South America.
But hundreds of species of sloths, some as large as an elephant, once roamed ancient landscapes from Alaska to the southern tip of South America.
There is a complete skeleton of a Mylodon – also known as Darwin’s land sloth – on display at the Natural History Museum in London.
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