Central Florida Zoo sloth Mr. Ginger dies after intensive care efforts

Central Florida Zoo staff spent days hand-feeding Mr. Ginger every few hours and keeping the young sloth in an incubator to help regulate his body temperature, but the animal’s condition kept worsening until the zoo made the decision to humanely euthanize him. The youngest of the Sloth World sloths in the zoo’s care was only about 4 to 6 months old, a tiny patient whose fragile condition turned a public rescue into a painful test of animal care and transparency for Sanford and Seminole County residents following the case.

Mr. Ginger was one of 13 sloths donated to the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens from Sloth World on April 24. Zoo officials said the animals were placed in quarantine for at least 30 days and closely monitored by the veterinary team after many arrived dehydrated and underweight. The zoo, which has been continuously AZA-accredited since 1986, said the sloths would be evaluated for long-term placement, with some potentially staying at the Sanford zoo and others moving to other accredited facilities through Species Survival Plans.

The death of Mr. Ginger came after another loss in the same group. On May 3, the zoo announced that Habanero had died after being in critical condition, and it later said necropsy and histopathology findings for Bandit, Habanero and Dumpling identified emaciation as the cause of death. Those findings underscored how severe the animals’ condition was when they arrived and how difficult the recovery effort has been for the zoo’s staff.

The broader story has resonated far beyond a routine animal update because the Sloth World case already carried heavy questions about animal welfare and public trust. A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission report cited in earlier investigative reporting said 31 sloths imported for the planned Sloth World attraction on International Drive died between December 2024 and February 2025. Against that backdrop, the zoo’s handling of the surviving animals has become a visible measure of how seriously it can manage a troubled rescue, with the remaining sloths still in quarantine and under treatment as the institution tries to stabilize what it took in.