Visiting Florida and want to pet or hold a sloth? Fortunately, you’re in luck because there are a number of zoos, animal sanctuaries and animal parks that let you interact with a sloth, for an extra charge of course.
The following is a list of places in Florida where you can pet or hold a sloth:
Amazing Animals:
Address: 4235 Rambler Ave, St. Cloud, FL
Website: www.amazinganimalsinc.org
Established in 2009, Amazing Animals is a private, 2.5 acre exotic animal preserve in St. Cloud that is home to over 100 exotic animals. The preserve is not open for general admission so visitors must book a private tour in order to see the facility.
Visitors who book a private tour will have the opportunity to pet a sloth, feed a capybara and have hands on encounters with other animals like reptiles, small mammals, barn yard animals and tortoises.
The tours are about 1 ½ hours long and visitors can have their photos taken with the animals during the tour.
Busch Gardens:
Address: 10165 McKinley Dr, Tampa, FL
Website: buschgardens.com/tampa
Busch Gardens is a theme park in Tampa that also features a zoo and a safari.
For an extra fee, visitors can do the Sloth Encounter which is a 30-minute behind the scenes tour of the sloth exhibit. Visitors get to pet, feed, interact with and take photos with a sloth while they learn about sloth conservation.
Emerald Coast Zoo:
Address: 5262 Deer Springs Dr, Crestview, FL
Website: www.emeraldcoastzoo.com
The Emerald Coast Zoo is a small, family-owned private zoo in Crestview that features exotic animals. The zoo is home to tigers, lions, giraffes, bears, kangaroos, monkeys, sloths, zebras and more.
For an extra fee, visitors can feed, pet and have their photo taken with a sloth, or they can feed a giraffe or a bear, pet a kangaroo, or train a lion.
Exotic Animal Experience:
Address: Orlando, FL (Call for complete directions)
Website: www.exoticanimalexperience.net
Established in 2010, the Exotic Animal Experience is a private, seven-acre zoo in Orlando that features exotic animals. The zoo is home to a wide variety of animals from lemurs to kangaroos to monkeys and it offers a hands-on interactive experience.
The zoo offers two types of sloth experiences where visitors can hold, pet and feed one of the zoo’s three sloths. The Simply Sloth Experience allows a group of four people to hold, feed and pet a sloth for 30 minutes. For an additional fee, guests can do the Private Simply Sloth Experience where they can hold, pet and feed a sloth by themselves or with one other person for 45 minutes.
For an extra fee, visitors can also hold a spider monkey named Ella Blue.
Gulf Breeze Zoo:
Address: 5701 Gulf Breeze Pkwy, Gulf Breeze, FL
Website: www.gbzoo.com
Established in 1984, the Gulf Breeze Zoo is a 50-acre zoo in Gulf Breeze that features over 900 exotic animals. The zoo is home to animals such as hippos, rhinos, gorillas, orangutans and giraffes.
For an extra fee, visitors can feed, pet and take a photo with the zoo’s two sloths, Lady and Tramp, or they can feed a hippo or giraffe, hold an albino alligator or pet a Galapagos tortoise.
St. Augustine Alligator Farm:
Address: 999 Anastasia Blvd. St. Augustine, FL
Website: www.alligatorfarm.com
Established in 1893, the St. Augustine Alligator Farm is a historic zoo in St. Augustine that features not only alligators and crocodiles but both exotic animals and animals native to Florida.
For an extra fee, visitors can pet, feed and interact with the park’s two sloths, Teddy and Grizzly, during the Rainforest Sloth Encounter. The encounter is a 20 to 30 minute experience during which a group of up to four people can interact with the sloths while learning about sloths and life in the rainforest.
If you are planning on visiting the St. Augustine Alligator Farm and want to save money on tickets, check out this article on St. Augustine Alligator Farm discount tickets.
Wild Florida:
Address: 3301 Lake Cypress Rd, Kenansville, FL
Website: wildfloridairboats.com
Established in 2010, Wild Florida is a drive-thru safari park that also features an alligator park, airboat rides and live exotic animal shows.
The park offers two types of Sloth Experiences where visitors can interact with one of the park’s two sloths. During the Sloth Encounter, visitors can pet and interact with a sloth and have their photo taken with it. During the VIP Sloth Encounter, visitors can hold, pet and feed a sloth while taking photos with it.
The park also offers various other types of animal encounters such as a Giraffe painting experience, a Gator Encounter, an Albino Alligator Training Encounter, an African Crested Porcupine Encounter, a Tamandua Encounter, a Lemur Encounter and a Capybara Encounter.
Zoo World
Address: 9008 Front Beach Road, Panama City Beach, FL
Website: zooworldpcb.com
Zoo World is a 5-acre zoo in Panama City that features exotic animals such as alligators, giraffes, lemurs, sloths and kangaroos.
For an extra fee, visitors can pet and feed a sloth and have their photo taken with it. The park also offers other types of animal encounters such as a Lemur Experience, an Alligator Experience, a Giraffe Feeding Experience, an Alligator Feeding Experience and an Australian Experience during which visitors can hold a kangaroo and feed a baby bearded dragon.
Sources:
“Up Close Animal Adventures.” Zoo World, zooworldpcb.com/experiences-2/
“Sloth Encounter.” Busch Gardens, buschgardens.com/tampa/tours/sloth-encounter/
“Animal Park Tour.” Exotic Animal Experience, exoticanimalexperience.net/exotic-animal-encounter.html
“Animal Encounters.” Gulf Breeze Zoo, gbzoo.com/attractions/animal-encounters
“Sloth Landing.” St. Augustine Alligator Farm, alligatorfarm.com/sloth-landing/
“Book Animal Encounter Experiences.” Wild Florida, wildfloridairboats.com/book-animal-encounter-experiences/
“Book a private tour of the preserve to meet a sloth!” Amazing Animals, amazinganimalsinc.org/Bookaprivatetour
