They outlived most of their ilk but that didn’t make it any easier. Two beloved sloths — Dustin and Sammy — have died at Brevard Zoo.
“It has been a difficult few weeks at our Zoo as we are heartbroken to share the passing of two of our Linne’s two-toed sloths, 23-year-old Dustin and 20-year-old Sammy,” the zoo posted Thursday on Facebook.
The two sloths taught zookeepers about the importance of taking moments to slow down and decompress, even on busy, fast-paced days. For Dustin and Sammy, day-naps were mandatory.
But sloths also can be sneaky. Dustin, aka “Dusty,” was particularly adept at sneaking up on his animal-care team, zoo officials said, especially if he knew a peanut was in hand.
“Dustin and Sammy appear to have been dealing with health issues that are being reported with increasing frequency in sloths under human care in in many zoological facilities,” the zoo’s post says. “Our veterinary team is still waiting for more information from histopathology, or the microscopic examination of the cells of organs, before making any final conclusions.”
Sloths not easy to care for
Sloths are notoriously sensitive and difficult to keep healthy in human care.
“Sloths have a delicate and very complex gastrointestinal system,” Rachel Turner, the zoo’s director of veterinary programs, said in the Facebook post.
Sloths in human care experience nutritional issues, vitamin and mineral imbalances and premature deaths, zoo officials said.
Deaths and health problems are happening primarily in sloths that originally come from the pet trade and from those born at zoos.
“Sloth diets in their native habitat may be difficult to replicate, leading to these imbalances. This issue is still being explored,” Turner said in the post. “We still don’t have a lot of good answers for why it’s happening, even in animals receiving excellent care.”
Dustin was a pet with chronic health issues
Dustin arrived at Brevard Zoo in 2006 after living as someone’s pet, with unknown health history. He suffered from poor hair coat, abnormal nails and emaciation. He showed signs of mineralization on a CT scan, as did Sammy, Dustin’s partner.
Unlike Dustin, though, Sammy had normal bloodwork and the other results of her exam were normal. She was unexpectedly found dead. A necropsy found a kidney stone, but that didn’t appear to be causing further issues.
Both sloths were well beyond their species’ median lifespan. That’s about 21 years for males and 14 years for females, according to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
But that didn’t make it any easier on their caretakers and visitors who grew to love them. “It’s important to us to be transparent with you by giving you a look at the full scope of animal care at the Zoo, which sees the highs of animal births and, inevitably, the lows of saying goodbye,” the zoo’s Facebook post said.
“In this case, we may not have all the answers, but we are working with our fellow AZA-accredited organizations to find a path forward to ensure sloths living under human care truly live the best lives with us as possible.”
“With more than 700 animals, many of which are in the later years of their life because of our care, it can sometimes feel like we’re constantly saying goodbye.”
Contact Waymer at (321) 261-5903 or jwaymer@floridatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Brevard Zoo mourns death of two beloved sloths
Reporting by Jim Waymer, Florida Today / Florida Today
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