People hold sloths because they love them. Because they’re told it’s okay. Because they’ve seen it everywhere online. But it’s not okay - and I wish more people knew that because I am sure they wouldn’t do it if they knew. Most of these sloths were taken from the wild to be sold for encounters like this. They aren’t rescued or being rehabilitated. They aren’t used to humans. They are stressed, and that stress slowly kills them. Sloths can’t fight or run, so they freeze and internalise all stress

Watch: Sloths are the world's slowest animal, sometimes staying in a single tree for years. | National Geographic

A three-fingered baby sloth that fell out of a tree was reunited with its mom after staff members at the Jaguar Rescue Center in Costa Rica played back a recording of the sound of its cries. | CNN