Third animal from Sloth World dies, leaving behind 10 sloths at Central Florida Zoo
By Molly Duerig
May 5, 2026 at 2:16 PM EDT
A third sloth at the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens died Monday, less than two weeks after its arrival from a warehouse for a canceled attraction known as Sloth World that was planned for a busy tourism district in Orlando.
Sloth World’s owners arranged for the capture and import of at least 61 sloths from their jungle habitats in South America, according to state records. At least 34 of those sloths have died. Conservationists fear the true death toll may be higher.
State prosecutors are investigating Sloth World’s owners, according to Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier.
RELATED: Brought to Orlando for 'Sloth World,' wild sloths died by the dozens
The zoo took in 13 sloths from the Sloth World warehouse on April 24. Since then, three animals have died, leaving behind ten sloths that the zoo’s animal care teams are still working around the clock to save.
“We're going to do everything we can to save as many of them as we can,” zoo CEO Richard Glover said Tuesday. “All of these animals deserved a better life.”
All 13 sloths arrived at the zoo underweight and with “quite a few things wrong with them,” according to zoo CEO Richard Glover. Arriving in especially poor condition were the three animals that have since died. (2000x2994, AR: 0.6680026720106881)
All the sloths arrived from Sloth World’s storage facility with names already, according to the zoo. The sloth that died on Monday was an adult named Dumpling. For now, the animal’s sex remains unknown. It’s difficult to precisely determine a sloth’s sex, or its age, Glover said.
Dumpling was one of four sloths that arrived at the zoo in the most critical condition, relative to the others, Glover said.
Of those four especially vulnerable sloths, only one is still alive: a roughly 3- or 4-month-old baby, named Ginger. The zoo’s animal care teams have determined the baby sloth is a male.
“[He] is struggling,” Glover said of Ginger, speaking by phone Tuesday afternoon. “It's the one we're probably most concerned about right now.”
Glover said DNA samples might eventually reveal whether or not Ginger’s mother is also at the zoo.
The zoo’s animal care teams have been working “hour after hour after hour” to provide medical care for sloths the zoo recently took in from Sloth World. (2000x2667, AR: 0.7499062617172854)
“We have to assume, because it's approximately three to four months old, that it was born, probably here, not overseas,” Glover said. “And we don't know if its mother is alive — and, possibly, one of the ones we have here — or whether it's orphaned.”
The legal import of creatures captured from their natural habitats and brought to the United States for commercial purposes reaps destruction on ecosystems and animal families, according to conservationists.
Sam Trull, co-founder and director of The Sloth Institute, blames the exotic pet trade for exploiting and orphaning many sloths, along with other animal species. It’s a trade enabled in part by Florida law. Research published by Trull’s nonprofit shows more than 1,100 wild-caught sloths entered the U.S. between 2011 to 2021, and the vast majority of live sloth shipments came through the Port of Miami.
If there is one positive to come out of the sad, deadly scandal surrounding Sloth World, Trull said, it is more public awareness.
“Sloths have been dying from this commercial trade for a long time. It's just [that] it's been one by one, and so that doesn't really make the headlines,” Trull said.
RELATED: ‘Massive’ regulatory gaps put imported sloths at risk, leading expert says
Glover, with the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens, is also concerned about the legal import of exotic animals. Many such animals, like sloths, are incredibly sensitive and difficult to care for.
It’s a challenge Glover and his team at the zoo regularly encounter firsthand.
“Our zoo is full of animals that were orphaned or [that] someone had as a pet,” Glover said. “Our bears started their lives as orphans and were in someone's basement for a few months before they were confiscated. … It's unbelievable, what people think would be an appropriate pet or that they could take care of.”
Zoo employees prepare an enclosure for the sloths that arrived at the zoo from Sloth World on April 24. (3001x2000, AR: 1.5005)
The zoo is still awaiting necropsy results for Bandit, the first sloth in its care to die. That was on Wednesday. On Saturday, another adult male named Habanero died.
In a Facebook post Tuesday morning, the zoo said it has been “an incredibly difficult week for our team, as everyone involved in caring for these animals can attest.”
According to the zoo, “sloths have a tendency to hide any signs of extreme illness until it is often too late for reversal, at which point, their condition can decline very rapidly and without advance warning.”
Among the challenges veterinarians face is the sloths’ slow metabolisms, meaning it can take “many weeks for any pre-existing issues to manifest,” according to the zoo's Facebook post.
The zoo is posting updates on the sloths’ condition to a page on its website, where it’s also soliciting donations to help with unexpected medical care expenses triggered by the sudden arrival of 13 sloths.
Caring for the sloths — and losing three — has been incredibly challenging for the zoo’s animal care teams. But Glover said support from the community and beyond has been an indispensable source of comfort.
“At the end of a long day, when you've gone about as far as you're capable of going and you're exhausted and you're feeling down, getting on our social media and seeing all the people that are pulling for these animals …. it helps,” Glover said. “And they are getting on there and looking, so — it certainly helps to see that kind of support.”
Sloth World’s owners arranged for the capture and import of at least 61 sloths from their jungle habitats in South America, according to state records. At least 34 of those sloths have died. Conservationists fear the true death toll may be higher.
State prosecutors are investigating Sloth World’s owners, according to Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier.
RELATED: Brought to Orlando for 'Sloth World,' wild sloths died by the dozens
The zoo took in 13 sloths from the Sloth World warehouse on April 24. Since then, three animals have died, leaving behind ten sloths that the zoo’s animal care teams are still working around the clock to save.
“We're going to do everything we can to save as many of them as we can,” zoo CEO Richard Glover said Tuesday. “All of these animals deserved a better life.”
All 13 sloths arrived at the zoo underweight and with “quite a few things wrong with them,” according to zoo CEO Richard Glover. Arriving in especially poor condition were the three animals that have since died. (2000x2994, AR: 0.6680026720106881)
All the sloths arrived from Sloth World’s storage facility with names already, according to the zoo. The sloth that died on Monday was an adult named Dumpling. For now, the animal’s sex remains unknown. It’s difficult to precisely determine a sloth’s sex, or its age, Glover said.
Dumpling was one of four sloths that arrived at the zoo in the most critical condition, relative to the others, Glover said.
Of those four especially vulnerable sloths, only one is still alive: a roughly 3- or 4-month-old baby, named Ginger. The zoo’s animal care teams have determined the baby sloth is a male.
“[He] is struggling,” Glover said of Ginger, speaking by phone Tuesday afternoon. “It's the one we're probably most concerned about right now.”
Glover said DNA samples might eventually reveal whether or not Ginger’s mother is also at the zoo.
The zoo’s animal care teams have been working “hour after hour after hour” to provide medical care for sloths the zoo recently took in from Sloth World. (2000x2667, AR: 0.7499062617172854)
“We have to assume, because it's approximately three to four months old, that it was born, probably here, not overseas,” Glover said. “And we don't know if its mother is alive — and, possibly, one of the ones we have here — or whether it's orphaned.”
The legal import of creatures captured from their natural habitats and brought to the United States for commercial purposes reaps destruction on ecosystems and animal families, according to conservationists.
Sam Trull, co-founder and director of The Sloth Institute, blames the exotic pet trade for exploiting and orphaning many sloths, along with other animal species. It’s a trade enabled in part by Florida law. Research published by Trull’s nonprofit shows more than 1,100 wild-caught sloths entered the U.S. between 2011 to 2021, and the vast majority of live sloth shipments came through the Port of Miami.
If there is one positive to come out of the sad, deadly scandal surrounding Sloth World, Trull said, it is more public awareness.
“Sloths have been dying from this commercial trade for a long time. It's just [that] it's been one by one, and so that doesn't really make the headlines,” Trull said.
RELATED: ‘Massive’ regulatory gaps put imported sloths at risk, leading expert says
Glover, with the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens, is also concerned about the legal import of exotic animals. Many such animals, like sloths, are incredibly sensitive and difficult to care for.
It’s a challenge Glover and his team at the zoo regularly encounter firsthand.
“Our zoo is full of animals that were orphaned or [that] someone had as a pet,” Glover said. “Our bears started their lives as orphans and were in someone's basement for a few months before they were confiscated. … It's unbelievable, what people think would be an appropriate pet or that they could take care of.”
Zoo employees prepare an enclosure for the sloths that arrived at the zoo from Sloth World on April 24. (3001x2000, AR: 1.5005)
The zoo is still awaiting necropsy results for Bandit, the first sloth in its care to die. That was on Wednesday. On Saturday, another adult male named Habanero died.
In a Facebook post Tuesday morning, the zoo said it has been “an incredibly difficult week for our team, as everyone involved in caring for these animals can attest.”
According to the zoo, “sloths have a tendency to hide any signs of extreme illness until it is often too late for reversal, at which point, their condition can decline very rapidly and without advance warning.”
Among the challenges veterinarians face is the sloths’ slow metabolisms, meaning it can take “many weeks for any pre-existing issues to manifest,” according to the zoo's Facebook post.
The zoo is posting updates on the sloths’ condition to a page on its website, where it’s also soliciting donations to help with unexpected medical care expenses triggered by the sudden arrival of 13 sloths.
Caring for the sloths — and losing three — has been incredibly challenging for the zoo’s animal care teams. But Glover said support from the community and beyond has been an indispensable source of comfort.
“At the end of a long day, when you've gone about as far as you're capable of going and you're exhausted and you're feeling down, getting on our social media and seeing all the people that are pulling for these animals …. it helps,” Glover said. “And they are getting on there and looking, so — it certainly helps to see that kind of support.”