31 sloths planned for a public exhibit die in Florida

A planned sloth attraction in Orlando never got off the ground, literally. Thirty-one sloths that were supposed to be the centerpiece of a new public exhibit called Sloth World died before the attraction could open. Back in December 2024, twenty-one sloths arrived at a warehouse in Florida from Guyana. They were shipped to the wrong place, a building that wasn't set up to receive them at all. According to an investigation by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, as per a BBC report, the warehouse had no water. No electricity. Just space heaters that someone bought at the last minute to try to keep the animals warm.And then the heaters broke. They tripped a fuse and shut down completely. For at least one night, the sloths were in a cold building with no heat. Keep in mind these animals are from tropical rainforests. They're used to temperatures between 70 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit. That week in Florida, it got down to 46 degrees Fahrenheit.All twenty-one sloths died.Two months later, the same thing happened again. Ten sloths came from Peru. Two arrived dead. The other eight showed up "emaciated", the FWC's word, and didn't survive long. They succumbed to what investigators called "poor health issues."Ben Agresta, who owns Sloth World, told a local news station that people are spreading "false and inaccurate information." He said the sloths that died had a virus that showed barely any symptoms. Something that couldn't even be detected after necropsy. But Peter Bandre, the vice-president listed on Sloth World's materials, told investigators something different when they started looking into what happened. He said the warehouse wasn't ready to receive the animals. "It was too late to cancel the shipment," he told them. He blamed the deaths on a "cold stun", which is what happens when tropical animals get exposed to cold temperatures they can't handle. Sloth World describes Bandre as "one of the most respected sloth experts in the world." Sloths aren't complicated animals, but they are picky about where they live. Sloths evolved in tropical rainforests where it's consistently warm. They need temperatures between 70 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit. That's their comfort zone. Go much lower and their metabolism starts failing. Go much higher and they overheat — they don't have the cooling systems other animals do. A sloth's entire life happens in the canopy. They don't walk on the ground by choice. They hang, they move slowly through branches, they sleep upside down in the trees. In captivity, this means they need tall enclosures with actual branches or strong ropes that mimic branches. A concrete floor with a climbing structure isn't enough. They need that high, three-dimensional space or they get stressed.Sloths eat leaves. Specific leaves. In the wild, they know which trees have the right nutrition. In captivity, getting the diet right is genuinely difficult. They need access to the right vegetation, and most zoos don't have that. Many captured sloths develop digestive issues or nutritional deficiencies because they're eating the wrong thing. This is one of the biggest reasons sloths struggle outside their natural habitat.Rainforests are wet. Constantly. Sloths' skin, their fur, their entire system is adapted to that humidity. In dry environments, they suffer. They need misting systems, moisture in the air, and access to water. And their enclosures need to stay clean because moisture also means fungi and bacteria can grow quickly if conditions aren't maintained properly.The ideal environment for a sloth is the rainforest canopy where it evolved. Anywhere else is a compromise.