13 donated sloths recovering at Central Florida Zoo near Orlando – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports | Fort Lauderdale

SANFORD, Fla. (WSVN) — Over a dozen sloths that were donated to the Central Florida Zoo are on the road to recovery after being found in rough shape.

According to zoo, the 13 two-toed sloths face a long road ahead but are hanging on.

“Everyone sees an animal and wants to see a good outcome,” said Central Florida Zoo CEO Richard Glover.

Many of the sloths are underweight and dehydrated after being placed in a 30-day quarantine when they moved in, Friday.

Veterinarians said they’ve already seen signs of improvement as they monitor the sloths around the clock and provide the animals with the hydration and proper nutrition they need.

“The first thing is, let’s get them hydrated, and let’s start getting them on the proper food and making sure that they have what they need, and so far, so good,” said Glover. “All of them have been responding well to the food and to the liquids, so right now, a little over 24 hours in, we still have all 13, and we’re hopeful that that will continue.”

According to Sloth World’s owner, he made the decision to donate the sloths one week ago.

Zoo staff spent all of last week building their habitat before they arrived on Friday afternoon.

This sloth transfer came after a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission report found that 31 sloths died between December 2024 and February 2025.

“It’s really early to tell, and not knowing what may be happening inside their bodies, that we’ll learn once we get the results of different kinds of medical tests,” said Glover. “That will tell us a lot more what we’re dealing with and how our odds are, so right now we’re hopeful, but I mean, none of us are breathing easy, for sure.”

The sloths destined for Sloth World died before the Orlando attraction ever opened its doors.

According to the FWC report, some of the sloths were cold stunned, and others died from poor health issues.

The owner of Sloth World maintains the sloths died from an alleged virus.

Depending on the outcome of their treatment, a few of the sloths could remain at the Central Florida Zoo, and the others could be sent to different zoos.

“If we put them back in the wild, they could be taking diseases back to a wild population and actually creating a whole lot more harm, so the other thing is, they’ve become very dependent on humans at this point; they are used to being fed and handed everything, not having to fend for themselves,” said Glover.

The zoo is working closely with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan to determine long-term placement for many of the sloths.
Copyright 2026 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.