Thirty-one sloths die in Florida before opening of attraction

Thirty-one sloths planned for a new "slothnarium" in Florida died before the attraction's planned opening, authorities have found.The mammals were planned to be showcased at a permanent, public exhibit at Sloth World in Orlando, set to open this spring.Many of the sloths died due to conditions at a Florida warehouse where they had been shipped, according to a Florida-fish-and-wildlife-conservation-commission" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="23028" data-entity-type="organization">Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) report released on Friday. Others arrived in Florida already dead or appeared in ill health and later died, the report states.The owner of Sloth World has denied allegations in the report and said there was "so much false and inaccurate information out there right now"."The truth is, we lost sloths that had a virus of which showed barely any symptoms and was undetectable even after necropsy," Ben Agresta, the owner of Sloth World, told Fox-35 in Orlando. The BBC has contacted Sloth World, along with its listed owner and representatives.Sloth World is advertised as Orlando's only "slotharium", with a rainforest-inspired habitat "designed exclusively with sloth wellbeing in mind", according to its website. The report from the FWC, obtained by the BBC on Friday, outlines two instances of the mammals dying ahead of the attraction's planned opening.