ORLANDO — Sloth World, a planned attraction in Orlando, is under scrutiny for its animal living conditions and the deaths of dozens of imported sloths.
The attraction was announced in December as a guided walk-through tour with a focus on conservation and education. It was originally scheduled to begin public tours in February, but it has not yet opened.
Inspectors with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission gathered details about the deaths of 31 sloths imported through Miami International Airport in late 2024 and early 2025. The first 21 animals came from Guyana and were taken to a converted warehouse about a mile south of the proposed attraction, which had no electricity or running water. All those sloths eventually died there.
The agency detailed the conditions at the warehouse in its August 2025 routine inspection report, which was revealed by Inside Climate News this week. Some of the information in the report was provided by Peter Bandre, who was then vice president of Sloth and a business partner of Ben Agresta, the attraction’s owner and president. Bandre then left Sloth World.
The state report said the heating equipment in the warehouse where the sloths were stored was connected to power from another building. The report said the sloth was in the cold, unheated building for at least one night due to a blown fuse. Bandore said the sloths died from “cold stun”, the report said.
Ten more sloths have since arrived from Peru, the report said. Two died on arrival, and the remaining eight eventually died from health problems.
The state wildlife agency said the four animals encountered during the inspection were in cages deemed too small to legally capture wild animals, so another placement will be carried out.
The report leaves questions about the future of Sloth World, which Agresta touted in an interview with the Sentinel late last year.
“What we really wanted to do with Sloth World is really recreate the rainforest as their home,” Agresta said. “You’re in their home, and that’s really the most important thing to remember. There are no cages, no screens, no enclosures, no hidden rooms, no secret passageways.”
Neither Agresta nor other Sloth World officials responded to requests for comment or interviews from the Sentinel this week.
Critics claim the attraction was a bad idea from the beginning.
“I think sloths are wild,” Rebecca Cliff, executive director of the Sloth Conservation Foundation, told the Sentinel on Tuesday. “We understand that sloths are in zoos and the benefits that it brings. … Sloths are a very sensitive species and they have very specific needs met that aren’t easily met by everyone.”
Inside Climate News, a nonprofit news company focused on environmental reporting, said in an article that since the last state inspection, the virus has spread inside the warehouse and caused more deaths. The report also found that Sloth World did not have USDA approval, a requirement for exhibiting animals to the public, and USDA said Sloth World’s affiliated import business, Sanctuary World Imports, also did not have USDA approval.
Sloths can’t regulate their body temperature well, have very specific diets and are easily stressed, which could pose problems for international transport, Cliff said.
“They don’t have a fight-or-flight response. They can’t run away or defend themselves when threatened,” Cliff said. “So they just internalize the stress… close their eyes, hold it in, and just hope it all passes.”
Although most sloths are not considered endangered, their populations are declining in the countries of Central and South America where they originate. Deforestation and urbanization are contributing factors.
Agresta said in an interview with the Sentinel in December that the attraction will focus on conservation, education, research and “a little bit of entertainment value,” but it won’t be a place where visitors will hold, touch or feed the sloths. He said the 7,500-square-foot habitat is home to more than 40 sloths, and a collection of sloths of this size would provide a valuable research database.
Sloths can also be seen at attractions such as the Orlando Science Center, the Central Florida Zoo in Sanford, and Amazing Animals, Inc. in St. Cloud.
Construction continues on the attraction, including new paint and the installation of Sloth’s World signage. Located north of Carrier Drive. No official opening date has been announced, but the company’s website says construction is 95% complete and expected to be operational “within approximately 25 days.” Advance VIP tickets were offered for $49, but are listed as sold out on the attraction’s website.
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