Third sloth, Dumpling, dies after rescue from Sloth World

One day after the Central Florida Zoo lost its second former Sloth World sloth, Habanero, the zoo has said yet another goodbye.

The zoo announced the death of sloth Dumpling on Tuesday morning.

Dumpling arrived at the zoo in critical condition and continued to struggle with digestion and gastrointestinal issues in the past 11 days. The sloth declined rapidly Monday morning.

“This has been an incredibly difficult week for our team, as everyone involved in caring for these animals can attest,” the zoo’s team wrote in a statement shared on Facebook.

“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. In addition, their metabolisms work so slowly, it could potentially take many weeks for any pre-existing issues to manifest.”

Zoo staff says continued care is ongoing for the remaining 10 sloths.

A total of 13 rescued sloths were donated from unopened attraction Sloth World to the Central Florida Zoo in Sanford last week. They were placed under a 30-day quarantine for close assessment and monitoring, and all 13 survived the first two nights under the zoo medical team’s care.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission first uncovered the deaths of 31 sloths under Sloth World’s care back in August 2025.

The animals, imported in shipments starting in late 2024, were brought to a warehouse on International Drive that had no running water, no electricity and faulty space heaters that were plugged in with extension cords running from another building, the FWC report says.

As even more sloths were imported, Sloth World learned that viruses including a “novel two-toed sloth gammaherpesvirus” were making their way throughout the warehouse, according to necropsy reports and internal company emails reviewed by Inside Climate News.

Former owner of Sloth World Benjamin Agresta has since said he plans to file for bankruptcy and that the attraction will no longer open.

Florida Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, last week called for a criminal investigation into the operators of Sloth World in a letter sent to AG James Uthmeier.

Eskamani’s letter raised concerns of potential violations of Florida law, including animal cruelty and “unlawful acts involving captive wildlife.” She also questioned the state’s regulatory oversight — describing the situation as a failure of government.

Uthmeier has since said his office is helping in the investigation.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday last week also announced the FWC was looking into the deaths.

This story includes reporting by McKenna Schueler.

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