ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A second sloth taken to a central Florida zoo for rehabilitation has died out of a group given up by a yet-to-open tourist attraction facing scrutiny for the deaths of more than 30 other sloths imported from Guyana and Peru.
Habanero, an adult male, was euthanized Saturday to prevent further suffering at the Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens. He had been taken there for rehabilitation along with a dozen other sloths given up by Sloth World, a tourist attraction planned for Orlando's tourism district that never opened, zoo officials said.
Another sloth, Bandit, died last week after being transferred to the zoo.
“When the sloths arrived, all were underweight and are being treated for gastrointestinal (GI) issues, requiring intensive, specialized care,” the zoo said in a statement. “Habanero initially showed encouraging signs of stabilization, including eating and drinking regularly under the close supervision of the zoo’s veterinary and animal care teams. In recent days, however, his condition worsened.”
A criminal investigation into the sloths' treatment under Sloth World's care is underway by state and local authorities.
Inspection reports by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission revealed 31 deaths between December 2024 and February 2025.
The wildlife agency said 21 sloths imported from Guyana died at an Orlando facility called Sanctuary World Imports at the time in December 2024 when temperatures dropped into the 40-to-55 degree Fahrenheit (4.4 to 12.8 degrees Celsius) range. Sloths are unable to regulate their body temperature as well as other mammals and do best in the 68-to-85 degree Fahrenheit (20 to 30 degrees Celsius) range.
The tourist attraction later ordered 10 sloths from Peru, which arrived in February 2025. Two were dead on arrival. The rest appeared emaciated and died of what the report termed “poor health issues," according to the state agency's report.
There was no answer Monday at a phone number listed for the tourist attraction in the wildlife agency's report.
FILE - A sloth is photographed on the outskirt of Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, March 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
Cycling's rising star Paul Seixas will compete at the Tour de France in July, becoming one of the youngest riders ever to take part in the sport's showpiece race.
An entire nation will be hoping he can end a four-decade drought for French male cyclists.
The 19-year-old Frenchman, widely regarded as a potential great and France’s best hope for a future Tour de France winner, announced his participation at cycling's showpiece race in a video released by his CMA CGM Decathlon team.
Seixa's precocity is rare. He has been in an impressive form this season, finishing runner-up to four-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar at the Strade Bianche and Liege-Bastogne-Liege. He also became the youngest winner of the Flèche Wallonne.
“It’s a childhood dream of mine, something I’ve often imagined, and now it’s very close to becoming reality,” said Seixas, a versatile rider with excellent climbing and time trialing skills. “I’m only 19, but as I’ve already said, age is neither a barrier nor an excuse.”
It has been nearly 41 years since a Frenchman last won the Tour de France, when Bernard Hinault claimed the last of his five titles back in 1985. Pauline Ferrand-Prévôt won the women’s Tour at her first attempt last year.
Over the past four decades, France has produced talented riders such as Thibaut Pinot, Romain Bardet, Warren Barguil or Julian Alaphilippe. All raised hopes but ultimately fell short, often facing rivals backed by stronger and better-funded teams.
That could change following Seixas' announcement, who has a strong team. Decathlon, a global sporting goods company, has joined forces with CMA CGM, one of the world’s largest shipping firms, to invest in a French team with Tour-winning ambitions. The team said last year it aims to win the Tour de France within the next five years.
“We needed to take the time to carefully analyze all the data and also talk with Paul and those around him,” said Dominique Serieys, the team's CEO. “He has had a remarkable start to the season and is already among the best riders in the world. And the best are meant to line up at the biggest race on the calendar: the Tour de France. With great humility and in a learning mindset, Paul will start in Barcelona with genuine ambitions to achieve the best possible result in the general classification.”
This season, Seixas also became the youngest winner of a WorldTour stage race at the Tour of the Basque Country. Seixas will take part in his first Tour at a younger age than Pogačar, who was 21 when he first appeared at the three-week race and went on to win. Hinault was also older, first lining up at 23.
“My results since the start of the season have given me a lot of confidence; I feel ready and I will have ambitious goals,” he said. “It’s not my mindset or my view of cycling to line up at the Tour de France with the sole aim of discovering it. I will aim for the best possible overall classification.”
If he lines up at the start of the Tour, Seixas will be 19 years, 9 months and 10 days old, making him the youngest participant in nearly 90 years. Even younger was fellow Frenchman Adrien Cento, who set off from Paris in the 1937 Tour at the age of 19 years, 3 months and 26 days, L'Equipe newspaper reported. Tour organizers Amaury Sport Organisation is a subsidiary of the Amaury Group, media and sport group that owns L’Equipe.
As part of his preparations for the Tour, Seixas will also compete at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in June. Following the Tour, he plans to ride in Canada before the world championships and the Tour of Lombardy.
The Tour de France starts on July 4 from Barcelona, Spain. The route is challenging, including two stage finishes at the Alpe d’Huez and a return to Paris’ picturesque Montmartre district on the final stage. Covering 3,333-kilometers (2,071-miles), the Tour will visit France’s five mountain ranges — the Pyrenees, Massif Central, Jura, Vosges and the Alps, featuring eight mountain stages including five summit finishes.
Pogačar, the best rider of his generation, could become only the fifth rider to win the sport’s most prestigious race five times after Belgian Eddy Merckx, Spaniard Miguel Induráin and Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil and Hinault.
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First place, Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar of the UAE Team Emirates, center right, congratulates second place France's Paul Seixas of the Decathlon team, center left, during the Belgian cycling classic and UCI World Tour race Liege Bastogne Liege, in Liege, Belgium, Sunday, April 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
Paul Seixas of France catches his breath after crossing the finish line to win the Belgian cycling classic Fleche Wallonne (Walloon Arrow), in Huy, Belgium, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
Second place France's Paul Seixas of the Decathlon team celebrates on the podium during the Belgian cycling classic and UCI World Tour race Liege Bastogne Liege, in Liege, Belgium, Sunday, April 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
