Elderly Sloths Live Out Their Golden Years at a 'Retirement Home' in Wales Zoo

Where do sloths go when they retire from a cushy career of tree-dwelling and leaf-munching? To Wales, apparently. As The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports, the Folly Farm in Pembrokeshire operates a retirement home for sloths of advanced age.

By removing older sloths from zoos and bringing them to the new facility in the southwest of Wales, space is freed up for younger sloths to mate. In turn, this helps conservation efforts, while also ensuring that older sloths get the love and care they deserve.

Much like human senior citizens, older sloths prefer to eat softer foods, such as boiled root vegetables. Their caretakers also ensure they get a regular dose of cod liver oil supplements to keep them healthy. The animals are still active, but with limited mobility. If they show any signs of struggling, staff might lower a tree's branches to make it easier for them to get down, according to zoo curator Tim Morphew.

Currently, the Folly Farm—which opened the retirement home last year—has two residents. Lightcap, a two-toed sloth, is one of the oldest sloths in Europe at 34 years old. Her roommate, Tuppee, is 10 years younger, but he’s also more cantankerous.

“Like many older men, Tuppee has been known to be a bit grumpy and even misbehaves at times but we know he’s a softie at heart,” Morphew told the BBC. “We’re hoping some older, female company will be a good influence on him and bring out the softer side of his nature. Sloths aren’t known for being social animals, but as they get older, we’ve found they do like company.”

Considering that sloths are pretty defenseless creatures, the animals live surprisingly long lives. Two-toed sloths live about 20 years in the wild, but can live more than 40 years in a zoo. In 2017, the world’s oldest sloth—a Hoffmann’s two-toed sloth named Miss C—died at an Australian zoo at the age of 43.

Morphew says the zoo may expand its sloth retirement home in the future.