Six new sloths joined the Indianapolis Zoo! The sloths came from APPC (Panamerican Conservation Association), a wildlife rescue center and sloth sanctuary in Panama.

Meagan Keen, area manager, was sent to Panama to work with the team at APPC and travel with the sloths from Panama to the United States.

According to a spokesperson for the zoo, APPC works to rerelease as many sloths as possible, but there are times when they need long-term care, as in the case of the sloths brought here.

Many of the sloths were orphaned at very young ages. Some mothers died due to injuries after storms or domestic dog attacks — sloths’ main threat is forest fragmentation, which causes them to move through urban areas.

Currently, the sloths are in a behind-the-scenes area. New animals at the Zoo go through a quarantine process to ensure they’re healthy before being introduced to the other species.

The sloths will be in the MISTery Park for guests to meet in a few weeks.

See the photo gallery in the article here