Discussion on: I am one of the world’s leading experts on sloths and the founder of The Sloth Conservation Foundation, ask me anything!

Good question! A lot of people think that sloths are like living teddy-bears, born to hug. Actually, the opposite is true. As a prey species, sloths are terrified of any human contact and they do not like hands-on contact at all. Even sloths that have been raised by humans in captivity are not particularly fond of people. If you try to cuddle a wild two-fingered sloth then you will regret it very quickly. Sloths have big teeth and they like to use them! I have seen someone get bitten through the hand by a sloth and you could see all the way through the hole in her hand afterwards! Sloths that are subject to a lot of human contact usually tend to internalize the stress. They won't always react aggressively, but science has shown that they experience abnormal blood pressure and heart rate responses when humans approach in a captive setting. This can be a little misleading as people often assume the sloth doesn't mind the interaction, but it is actually causing a lot of internal stress for the animal. This is the reason why we don't support any organisation that offers hands-on sloth interactions for paying guests!