Meet the Sloth, Oliver! 

General Information

Oliver is a male, 2-fingered, baby sloth born on August 1st. He is from Altas de Polonia, Colombia and was found in a backyard after being trafficked in an illegal sloth pet trade. In the sloth rescue center, his blanket color is dark pink, and his surrogate stuffy is Hammy the Hamburger.

Likes & Dislikes

Oliver's likes include snack time, exploring new places, trying all foods (trying to chew everything in sight), play-fighting with his pals, and sleeping under his blanket. Oliver's dislikes include human touch, when others interrupt his snack time, being picked up, loud music, and pollution (accidentally chewing on garbage).

Oliver's Story

Oliver is a young 2-fingered sloth who was rescued from one of the worst fates for a little sloth–to be torn away from his mother in order to become a part of an incredibly popular trade: illegal wildlife pet trade. Oliver was found by a couple who noticed the baby sloth in the backyard of their neighbor's house in Colombia, and decided to call the environmental police to check up on the house. The police found Oliver huddled in a crate with a blanket, a bowl of water, and some leaves. While his sleepy state seemed normal for a sloth, it became apparent that Oliver was more than just sleepy. He was sick and dying. Sloths don't often show external signs of stress, but upon medical examination, Oliver's body showed signs of chronic stress. While he was near death when he was found (even beginning to lose his grip), once he was taken to a facility that knew how to properly care for him, Oliver slowly started regaining his strength.

After about a month, Oliver seemed like a completely new little sloth. He was always snacking and gaining healthy weight. He began to climb everywhere and developed a wonderfully aggressive and snappy personality. He now loves to play fight with his fellow nursery buddies and when approached by humans, he is ready to square up and fight. From the start, Oliver showed determination to heal and find his way back to his home, the wild.

Oliver in the Real World

Oliver's story is, unfortunately, a tragic, yet common story. Colombia is one of many hot spots for illegal wildlife pet trades; baby sloths being one of the more popular pets. These babies are often torn from their mothers and kept in small cages, a horrible environment for these little infants. Unfortunately, these babies often die within their first few weeks in captivity due to their extremely sensitive needs and the harsh conditions. The desire to purchase sloths as pets has grown drastically as the internet spreads cute and goofy videos of sloths. They often perpetuate misconceptions about their "lazy" and "unintelligent" states (both untrue stereotypes). 

2-toed sloth babies enjoying snacks at Fundación Aiunau after being rescued from illegal pet trades. Photo accessed from nationalgeographic.org

According to National Geographic, only one system of illegal pet trade alone, led by Issac Bedoya, sold about 10,000 sloths within 3 decades. 3-fingered sloths are more popular among pet trades because they are less aggressive than 2-fingered sloths. However, both species of sloths fall victim to illegal pet trades frequently. Sloths are illegally traded in many different Central/South American countries. In Colombia, sloths are often traded to tourists as pets; whereas, in Costa Rica, sloths are often taken from their homes to "feed" the quickly-growing, interactive sloth tourist attractions. Sloths are even traded far away from their homes, going for nearly $5000 a sloth in the U.S.

 

What Can You Do to Help? 

Educate yourself!

Ever thought about having a sloth as a pet? Yes, technically it IS legal to own a sloth is SOME areas; however, this is a very bad idea. Even if it is legal for you to get a sloth, it is still incredibly harmful to own one. Do some research into why sloths do not make good pets. The Sloth Conservation Foundation provides great resources that explain why keeping sloths captive is harmful, whether that is through pets or tourist attractions.

Show Your Love for Sloths in Other Ways!

Say NO to Sloth Selfies! Say NO to sloth yoga! Say NO to sloth-holding tourism! Donate by symbolically adopting a sloth from a rescue center!

Credits & Links