To mark International Sloth Day, this Sunday 20th October, Drusillas Zoo in Sussex is giving away a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to one lucky visitor: the chance to experience a magical close encounter with adorable sloth couple.
Halina and Sophocles. Even better, each entry for the prize draw will raise money to help the survival of the sloths wild ‘cousins’ in Costa Rica.
Sloths are one of Drusillas’ most popular animals, who often see a waiting list of over a year for visitors to meet them. But sloth super fans can skip the queue if they win the prize draw and spend some quality time with Halina and Sophocles.
As well as the unforgettable experience of hand feeding the pair, the winner will also receive free entry to the Park for two, and a loveable sloth cuddly toy.
All to fundraise for The Sloth Conservation Foundation (SloCo), a charity based in Costa Rica, trying to raise $20,000 this ‘SlothTober’ to protect wild sloths from the devastating effects of urbanisation.
This is the first fundraiser Drusillas has held since the launch of their own conservation charity: Drusillas Conservation in Action — a new initiative which the Zoo Park hopes will help to both protect the planet’s biodiversity and educate visitors about the threats that so many species, including sloths, are currently facing.
One of the key objectives of the new charity is to fundraise for a central fund, which will then be distributed as grants to conservation charities and other organisations across the world, to support their research and crucial work to save species from extinction.
Sloth lovers who would like to be in with a chance of being up close to Drusillas picture-perfect pair are invited to enter the fundraiser prize draw with all monies raised donated to SloCo.
The Zoo hopes to raise enough money to support SloCo in smashing their fundraising target, which will help finance much-needed projects such as: creating ‘Sloth Crossing’ canopy bridges, tree planting, and buying GPS tracking collars to help SloCo to accurately monitor sloth populations.
Habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, dog attacks, traffic, and powerlines are all significant threats to sloth survival, however, the largest and most invisible threat is ignorance.
Without accurate data on wild sloth populations, governments cannot pass protective legislation, NGOs cannot assess the effectiveness of conservation programs, and sloth genetic diversity may reach a critical state before anyone even knows what’s wrong.
Anyone entering the prize draw, which closes on 31st October, will be helping support this crucial project.
Drusillas now holds five Linne’s two-toed sloths, including Halina, Sophocles, and their daughter Echo. As well as Gordon, and Flash, who was hand-reared by the Park’s resident sloth specialists, Mark Kenward and Gemma Romanis.
Anyone wishing to enter the prize draw can do so at the link here.
Located just off the A27 in Alfriston, Drusillas Park is open daily from 10am. For more information please telephone 01323 874100 or visit www.drusillas.co.uk
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