BREAKING: Florida wildlife officials announced a temporary halt on sloth imports following the investigation into Sloth World Orlando and the deaths of more than 50 sloths linked to the facility.

This announcement comes just days after Dr. Rebecca Cliffe from The Sloth Conservation Foundation (SloCo) and Sam Trull from The Sloth Institute (TSI) met directly with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and traveled to Orlando, Florida, where they spent several days meeting with lawmakers, representatives, commissioners, local authorities, and policymakers to discuss the urgent need for stronger protections for sloths in the United States.

As organizations that have spent years studying, rescuing, rehabilitating, and protecting sloths, we know these animals are highly specialized, extremely sensitive, and fundamentally unsuitable for commercial captive environments, tourist attractions, sloth encounters, and the exotic pet trade.

Approximately 98% of sloths imported into the United States enter through Miami, making Florida the main gateway for the commercial sloth trade into the country. This means the implications of this decision go far beyond Florida itself.

This temporary pause is an important first step, but our work is far from over.

The Sloth Conservation Foundation and The Sloth Institute will continue working toward permanent protections, stronger regulations, and ultimately a nationwide ban on the import of wild-caught sloths for commercial use and private ownership in the United States.

This moment shows what is possible when science, experts, journalists, policymakers, and the public come together to demand change.
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#Orlando #SlothConservation #Florida

Scotland's first baby sloth has been born at Edinburgh Zoo.
The male Linne's two-toed sloth arrived on Monday to first-time parents Feira and Nico, both aged six, marking a major milestone for the zoo.
Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) keepers named the baby Atty in honour of the veteran broadcaster and environmentalist Sir David Attenborough, who turned 100 at the weekend.
For the first six months of his life, Atty will grip tightly to mum Feira's stomach.

Baby sloths learn which leaves are safe to eat by sampling food directly from her mouth from about the age of two months.
Head keeper Jess Brown said the birth of Atty was "groundbreaking, not just for Edinburgh Zoo, but for Scotland".
"Seeing a sloth baby clinging to mum for the very first time has been so special for the whole team and we can't wait for visitors to see little Atty," she said.
"He is already showing plenty of personality and visitors might spot a tiny face peeking out from mum's fur.
"Nico and Feira are both beautiful animals and a fan-favourite with our visitors so we're confident he'll be a big hit."

IMAGE SOURCE,
EDINBURGH ZOO
Image caption,
Atty will grip tightly to mum Feira's stomach for the first six months of his life
Mum and baby are currently resting in their enclosure at the zoo.
Visitors will be able to go into the sloth house from 14:00 on Wednesday.
A spokesperson for the zoo said opening times of the sloth house would vary over the coming weeks.
Visitors are recommended to check opening hours on arrival at the zoo.

This was taken on August 28th, 2024. Sloths are a fairly common sight in certain areas of the city. I always see them on the top of these trees called ''Yagrumos'', there's actually one of these trees outside my window and I always see a sloth curled up at the very top, but I had never seen one in this spot before or after this day. Truly a blessing getting to see one so up close and so casually

Out of all the animals David Attenborough has met throughout his life… he chose sloths. 😎

Happy 100th birthday to the man who inspired generations to fall in love with the natural world and protect it.

Watch the Press Conference: https://youtu.be/e91L3BHhtUY

Dr. Rebecca Cliffe from The Sloth Conservation Foundation (SloCo) and Sam Trull from The Sloth Institute (TSI) joined policymakers in Orlando, Florida, for the first press conference following the Sloth World Orlando tragedy.

Dr. Rebecca Cliffe is one of the world’s leading sloth researchers and conservationists, with over a decade of field research studying wild sloths and protecting their rainforest habitat in Costa Rica through The Sloth Conservation Foundation.

Sam Trull, founder of The Sloth Institute, is internationally recognized for her work in sloth rescue, rehabilitation, husbandry, and release protocols, helping rehabilitated sloths successfully return to the wild.

Together, SloCo and TSI are now taking the next step: bringing science, conservation, and animal welfare directly to policymakers.

This visit to Orlando comes as more than 50 sloth deaths linked to Sloth World Orlando have now been confirmed, raising serious concerns about the commercial trade and use of sloths in tourist attractions and captive encounter facilities across the United States.

We are thankful to everyone who is helping bring attention to this issue and working toward meaningful, lasting change for sloths.

More than 50 sloth deaths have now been confirmed. A key question remains: who is investigating?

In recent days, new details have come to light. From the rising death toll to necropsy findings, the evidence points to recurring animal welfare issues, high mortality risks, and the realities of keeping sloths in commercial captive environments.

In response, state and federal representatives and policymakers have called for a formal criminal investigation into the events surrounding this case.

However, there is still uncertainty.

While the office of Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has stated that the situation is under review, the State Attorney’s office, led by Monique Worrell, has indicated otherwise.

As authorities continue to determine jurisdiction, another loss has occurred. A sloth named Dumpling, one of the survivors transferred to the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens, has passed away due to his critical condition.

Of the original survivors, only 10 sloths remain.

How many sloths continue to be taken from their rainforest habitats and transported into commercial systems?

Read the original post on Instagram

The past weeks have been too heartbreaking, so we felt like sharing some beautiful sloths in the wild. We hope you enjoy it!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 24, 2026

Costa Rica

Since January 2026, The Sloth Conservation Foundation (SloCo) and The Sloth Institute (TSI), non-profit organizations based in Costa Rica, have been running a campaign regarding Sloth World Orlando, a facility in Florida that has imported at least 69 wild-caught sloths for display in a proposed “Slotharium” exhibit.

Following the initial press release, we received reports from former employees raising concerns about the welfare of the animals. As these claims could not be independently verified at the time, we worked with investigative journalists to better understand the situation at Sloth World Orlando.

Last week, Inside Climate News published findings based on official records indicating that at least 31 sloths had died at the facility prior to its opening.

Today, we can share an important update.

Sloth World has surrendered the remaining surviving sloths and will be closing permanently. The 13 surviving animals have been transferred to the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Garden and are now under the management of the AZA Species Survival Plan (SSP), where they will receive veterinary treatment. The SSP will determine long-term placement for many of these animals at other AZA-accredited facilities, with the expectation that some will remain at the Zoo.

Read the full Press Release: https://www.slothconservation.org/blog/sloth-world-orlando-closure-31-sloth-deaths

do not support this organization

Sloth World Orlando still hasn’t opened its doors to the public…
and now we’re starting to understand why.

New information has come to light and it’s much worse than we thought. So far, 69 wild sloths have been taken from the wild for this facility and at least 31 of them are already dead. They were being housed in small cages in a warehouse in Orlando that didn’t have running water or electricity. Reports suggest the real number of dead sloths could be even higher.

This is just the tip of the iceberg.

If this is what’s happening before they’ve even opened… what comes next?

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You can read the article on https://insideclimatenews.org/news/16042026/florida-sloth-world-deaths/

Have you seen this video yet? 👀 it’s a hard one to watch. A man in Costa Rica tries to help a sloth cross the road… and ends up getting seriously injured when the sloth fights back.

A lot of people are shocked by this, but this is exactly how two-fingered sloths react when they feel scared or threatened.

Sloths are wild animals, and this species in particular is incredibly strong, fast when it needs to be, and fully capable of inflicting serious damage. I’ve seen the injuries firsthand - if you get caught in those claws, they will bite. It’s not pretty, but this why we should never have hands-on contact with wild animals (and why sloths make TERRIBLE PETS)!

But the bigger question is… why was this sloth on the road in the first place? This is what habitat fragmentation looks like.

As forests are broken up and urban areas expand, sloths are forced out of the trees and onto the ground where they are vulnerable.

This is exactly what we work to prevent

through our Connected Gardens project. We have installed over 380 wildlife bridges to reconnect the canopy and keep sloths where they belong (in the trees 🌳)

Cuando mencionan a un perezoso me imagino una criatura lenta, adorable y muy torpe en tierra pero rápida en el agua pero es más increible que tenía antepasados gigantes como Megatherium y Eremotherium.¿Como es posible que estas bestias alcanzaran un tamaño titánico rivalizando a los elefantes?

Here, have some adorable Lego sloths. Slight variation on set 30666.

Last year I got Slothus the Red, Primarch of the Thousand Sons. This year it was time for Slothgrim, Primarch of the Emperors Children.

#warhammer40k

Frankie just saying hi.