Miss C, believed to be one of the world's oldest sloths, dies at Australian zoo

For a sloth, Miss C lived a longer life than most.

The Hoffmann's two-toed sloth was euthanised at Australia's Adelaide Zoo on Friday, following ongoing age-related health issues that were affecting her quality of life. At 43 years old, Miss C lived more than double her life expectancy.

"The average life expectancy of a sloth in the wild is about 10-12 years old, so Miss C truly was a phenomenal creature and believed to be the oldest of her kind in the world," Adelaide Zoo's Curator of Conservation and Native Fauna, Dr. Phil Ainsley, said in a statement via email.

"The treatment Miss C required was very invasive and would likely only delay the inevitable so the hard decision was made to humanely euthanise her. Although this is an extremely sad loss for us all, it was the right thing to do for Miss C."

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Miss C was born at Adelaide Zoo in 1974, and was the last sloth in Australia.

"At this stage, there are no sloths left in the region, so while we would love to one day house this amazing species again, it may be some time before a sloth once again calls Adelaide Zoo, or Australia home," Ainsley said.

The Hoffmann's two-toed sloth is "one of the world's slowest mammals," according to National Geographic, and can be found in parts of South and Central America.