9 WAYS TO HELP SLOTHS IN CAPTIVITY & IN THE WILD

    1. Stay away from any zoos or traveling animal businesses that offer sloth encounters, sloth photo ops, touching or holding a sloth or that tour sloths from location to location.



    2. Never pay to pet or hold a sloth. In tourist destination countries, wildlife encounter businesses often exploit animals, under the guise of rescue or education, and prey upon travelers who are seeking wildlife experiences. Here in North America, mobile zoo wild animal encounter businesses often do the same.



    3. Do not like, comment or share any social media posts in which sloths are touched, held or used in sloth encounters of any kind. Social media has played a key role in the massive increase in sloth exploitation for profit, increasing their numbers in mobile zoos and commercial activities and escalating their numbers in the exotic pet trade.



    4. If you see a sloth always keep a minimum distance of 2 meters (6 feet) away. Give sloths plenty of space as you can make them scared, stressed and, sometimes, they can react aggressively. Despite their smiling faces and seemingly docile nature, some sloths can react quickly when threatened and a sloth bite is no joke.



    5. Don’t use your camera flash around sloths. Camera flashes may hurt the eyes of sloths and other wild animals, so don’t use them.



    6. Don’t use selfie sticks to get better sloth photos. Selfie sticks may be viewed as intrusive extensions of our bodies that harass sloths and cause them unnecessary stress.



    7. Don’t shout or make loud noises around sloths and don’t try to attract their attention if they are in close proximity in captivity or in the wild. Keep your voice down to avoid scaring sloths or causing them unnecessary stress.



    8. Speak up for sloths and spread the word. Most people don’t know that touching, holding, taking selfies with or supporting shows and similar kinds of activities can be harmful to sloths. They do best when they are left alone. You can help sloths by passing on what you know to your family, friends and colleagues, so they don’t inadvertently contribute to the exploitation of sloths.



    9. Support sloth conservation and wildlife welfare organizations. Check out The Sloth Conservation Foundation