By Eva Liguori
Herald Intern
A new indoor attraction called Sloth World was set to open this spring as a first-of-its-kind “slotharium”. However, the company filed for bankruptcy and permanently shut down before its opening after 52 sloths died in its care.
The company began taking sloths in from Guyana and Peru in December of 2024, before the exhibition was ready. With nowhere to house them, they placed the sloths in a warehouse near International Drive that was last approved in 2021 to house cars, but not live animals. The warehouse had no electricity or running water during Florida’s cold winter, and the sloths died of cold stun.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission first inquired about the deaths on Aug. 7, 2025, during an unannounced inspection. Initial reports said 31 sloths had died. However, veterinary records later revealed that 21 more died even after the FWC intervened.
In April 2026, Sloth World officially filed for bankruptcy and donated the remaining 13 Hoffmann’s two-toed sloths and Linnaeus’s two-toed sloths to the Central Florida Zoo, where they were in critical condition.
“They were all a little bit dehydrated, and most of them were a little bit underweight,” Central Florida Zoo CEO Richard Glover Jr. said.
The Sloths are currently in the middle of a one-month quarantine process at the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens in Sanford, where they are receiving around-the-clock veterinary care. The sloths are continuing to fight, and staff remain cautiously optimistic about a successful outcome.
“It’s still the early stages, but the fact that at this point we can say 12 of the 13 are essentially stable, and that doesn't mean they're perfect, but they don't seem to be in immediate danger, is a big win,” Central Florida Zoo CEO Richard Glover Jr. said.
Because of the diseases they contracted, the sloths cannot be released into the wild due to the risk of spreading the virus to the wild population. Their long-term future remains uncertain. For now, the Central Florida Zoo is focused on keeping the sloths in quarantine and monitoring their health.
After completing the required one-month quarantine, the zoo will work with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to reassess their health and determine next steps, including whether to extend quarantine, move them into a public exhibit at the Central Florida Zoo, or transfer them to another facility.
You can follow along with updates on the sloths at the Central Florida Zoo on Instagram or Facebook at @centralfloridazoos or visit centralfloridazoo.org.
