Thirty-one sloths die in Florida before opening of attraction
Thirty-one sloths planned for a new “sloth” establishment in Florida have died before the attraction’s scheduled opening, officials have found.
The mammals are planned to be displayed in a permanent, public exhibit at Sloth World in Orlando that will open this spring.
Most of the sloths died due to conditions in the Florida warehouse to which they were shipped, according to a report released Friday by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). Others arrived in Florida dead or in poor health and later died, the report states.
The owner of Sloth World denied the allegations in the report and said there was “a lot of false and inaccurate information out there right now.”
“The reality is that we lost sloths that showed almost no symptoms and had a virus that was undetectable even after necropsy,” Ben Agresta, owner of Sloth World, told Fox-35 in Orlando.
The BBC contacted Sloth World along with the listed owner and its representatives.
Sloth World is billed as Orlando’s only “sloth hangout” with a rainforest-inspired habitat that is “specifically designed with the welfare of sloths in mind,” according to its website.
The FWC report, obtained by the BBC on Friday, outlines two examples of mammals dying before the attraction’s planned opening.
According to the FWC report, 21 sloths shipped from Guyana in December 2024 died due to cold conditions in a warehouse in Florida where they were shipped.
Then, in February 2025, two of the 10 sloths traveling from Peru arrived dead. The remaining eight “appeared to be emaciated” and later succumbed to “poor health conditions,” the report said.
When FWC investigators were alerted and began investigating, Peter Bandre, listed online as the recreation center’s vice president, told them the warehouse where the sloths died was not properly set up to hold the animals.
“It was too late to cancel the shipment,” Bandre told investigators.
The report states that their deaths were due to “cold shock”.
The building had no water or electricity, so heaters were purchased to keep the animals warm. However, according to the report, the heaters blew a fuse and shut down.
Researchers found that sloths were in the unheated building for at least one night. The animals are native to tropical rainforests and generally live in areas with temperatures ranging from 70-86F (21-30C).
The report states that these sloths arrived in Florida on December 18, 2024. Historical weather data shows the low the following week was 46F (7C).
In its investigation, the FWC also found that in two instances, sloths in Bandre’s care were found in cages that did not meet wildlife captivity requirements. A verbal warning was given at that time.
In its promotional material, Sloth World describes Bandre as “one of the world’s most respected sloth experts.”
The FWC closed its investigations into animal deaths without a written warning or citation, an agency spokesman told the BBC. However, the spokesman said there were other regulatory bodies investigating.
Orange County’s building safety office issued a stop-work order Thursday at the warehouse where the animals were housed. A report obtained by the BBC from the agency cites allegations of violations of state zoning rules and county rules.
It’s unclear whether the attraction, located in a popular tourist corridor in Orlando, will open as planned later this year.
FWC said Sloth World’s owner has a wildlife permit on file. The permit allows individuals or businesses to exhibit or sell wildlife.
Local media also reported that more than a dozen sloths planned to be part of the attraction are now being cared for by another zoo in central Florida.
The revelations about Sloth World sparked criticism from many lawmakers and animal rights advocates.
Florida state Rep. Anna Eskamani said the case exposed a “massive loophole” in wildlife permits because the FWC is not required to be alerted to animal deaths.
“If it weren’t for ordinary people caring and reporting these deaths, it would be difficult to know when the FWC would even know about this. [the deaths]added the Democratic lawmaker.
For months, the Sloth Protection Foundation and the Sloth Institute had expressed concerns about the planned opening of Sloth World.
“When taken from the forest canopy and transported internationally to the United States, sloths often suffer serious health problems related to alteration of proper diet and exposure to an artificial environment,” said Sam Trull, executive director of the Sloth Institute.
“For many of the sloths that are caught, this leads to their death,” he added.
