The Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens determined the animals were "dehydrated" upon their arrival, and one animal needed critical care

Orlando Sloth World, the International Drive attraction billed as the world’s only “Slotharium,” will never open its doors. Conservation groups announced on April 24 that the facility is closing permanently after at least 31 sloths died before the attraction welcomed a single visitor.

The operators of Sloth World in Orlando blamed most of the deaths on cold weather and a lack of heating in the warehouse, according to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission report.

A new study by scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) has revealed significant cryptic diversity within two-toed sloths (Choloepus) in Amazonia, challenging the long-established taxonomy of the genus.