MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, FLA. (WSVN) - Zoo Miami is welcoming two new furry guests from Panama.
Orphaned sloths Chelsea and Pete, both two years old, arrived at Miami International Airport from the Republic of Panama, Friday night.
#NOW: The sloths have landed! Slothtacular landing for orphan sloths from Panama headed for @zoomiami. @wsvn #7News @iflymia pic.twitter.com/VUSMS0Ezwj
— Sheldon Fox-7 News (@fox_sheldon) July 27, 2018
“They’re totally upside down. They will sleep 10, 12, 14 hours a day. They move about six feet per minute,” said Zoo Miami Communications Director Ron Magill.
The two-toed sloths are considered orphans from the jungle and had to be hand-raised, which prohibits their release back into the wild.
“These are such neat animals. They’re the slowest of the land mammals, and they only go to the bathroom once a week,” said Magill. “They were the perfect passengers. There’s absolutely no smell to them, they make no noise.”
Sloths have many unique characteristics. Zoo Miami’s Kristen Kendrick explained what’s going on under all of that fur.
“They are a little weird looking. Their skeletal structure is designed to hang upside down,” she said. “So they’re totally different from other mammals in that they can support their body weight on their hands, and they hang upside down.”
They will be at the zoo as a special loan from the Pan American Conservation Association at Gamboa Rainforest Reserve.
Chelsea and Pete will have to be quarantined for some time before they can be on display at Zoo Miami — and even taken out to meet children at schools across South Florida.
At their new home, the sloths will be part of Zoo Miami’s Animal Ambassador Program, which aims to educate the public about conservation efforts and illegal pet trade.
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