Florida officials investigate planned ‘Sloth World’ attraction after 31 sloths die in warehouse

Cages that were deemed too small for individual sloths, according to an incident report from Florida’s fish and wildlife commission. Photograph: Florida fish and wildlife commission

Wildlife officials in Florida said in a newly released report that dozens of sloths taken from South American rainforests for display at a controversial new tourist attraction in Orlando died in the care of their new owners.

An incident report from the Florida fish and wildlife conservation commission (FWC) said that 31 of the mammals procured from Peru and Guyana by the owners of a forthcoming attraction called Sloth World perished in a storage warehouse more than a year ago, between December 2024 and February 2025.