Bandit the sloth dies, zoo says after taking in several bound for now-shuttered Sloth World in Orlando
By Madilyn Destefano
Click here for updates on this story
ORLANDO, Florida (WESH) — Bandit, one of the sloths bound for the now-shuttered Sloth World attraction in Orlando, has died at the Central Florida Zoo.
The team said they are devastated. The Central Florida Zoo CEO, Richard Glover, said he didn’t have the strength to keep going.
“His energy levels were to the point that we’d offer him something to eat a little, and then he would just go right back to sleep,” he said.
Dozens of sloths have already died after many were left in an unheated warehouse, according to a Captive Wildlife Report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Details of the 2024 and 2025 deaths of the 31 exotic animals are included in an August 2025 report of an unannounced routine inspection of the warehouse that was holding the sloths. The report was recently made public.
The report blames cold stun after temperatures inside their warehouse dropped to the mid-40s in December.
The sloths died before they were to be sent to the attraction on International Drive.
The 13 surviving sloths from Sloth World continue to recover at the Central Florida Zoo in Sanford.
In the latest update, the zoo said the animals are “receiving dedicated care from our animal and veterinary teams, with regular monitoring and treatment.”
However, the zoo was keeping a close eye on Bandit, as he remained in guarded condition. He was a little over one year old and came in the worst shape, the zoo said.
“He is dehydrated. He’s really weak. He’s showing a lot of signs of just weakness and not being able to really rally the way a lot of the others have, and he hasn’t responded to diet and fluids as well as some of the others have,” said Glover, the day prior to the sloth’s passing.
The remainder of the sloths, imported from Guyana and Peru, will remain in quarantine for 30 days to assess their medical conditions.
Glover said that while Bandit’s passing is painful, he may actually be able to help the twelve remaining sloths that are at the zoo.
“We are doing a necropsy and getting some tissue samples out to see if we find anything in him that might actually impact things we need to look for in the others,” Glover said.
Glover said donations make a big difference for these sloths, with blood tests being the most expensive part of the sloths’ treatment.
“There’s still a long road ahead, and we’re taking it one step at a time,” Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens said in a Facebook post.
Meanwhile, many people have reached out to WESH 2 News, wanting refunds for their tickets. Bankruptcy attorney Chad Van Horn said if you paid by credit card, dispute the charge now.
“If the company files for bankruptcy, those creditors become unsecured, meaning they’re last in line to get paid,” Van Horn said.
He warns — if bankruptcy is filed, do not try to collect on your own.
“Any actions to try to collect after the bankruptcy is filed violate the automatic stay, and you could be sued,” he said.
Following the deaths of the sloths, State Rep. Anna Eskamani has requested that a criminal investigation be conducted.
Eskamani wrote to the Attorney General, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s director, and staff, saying:
“I write to formally request that the Florida Attorney General’s Office initiate a criminal investigation into the operators of the “Sloth World” facility and any of its related entities in Central Florida. Recent findings documented in incident reports from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) raise serious concerns regarding potential violations of Florida law, including but not limited to animal cruelty under Section 828.12, Florida Statutes, and unlawful acts involving captive wildlife under Chapter 379, Florida Statutes.”
Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.