Sloth bit a child — ‘reaching the bone,’ SC mom says. Now she’s suing an animal center
.jpg "A sloth bite injured a child in South Carolina, a lawsuit said. This file photo was taken in New Jersey.")
A family was visiting an animal center when a sloth suddenly bit a child’s finger, “reaching the bone,” a South Carolina mother said.
Candise Gore and her child are suing Charleston Sloth and Exotics after they said the animal bite cut into the youngster’s skin on June 28. The child received medical treatment after getting injured at the business — also known as Charleston Anteaters and Exotics, according to a lawsuit filed this month.
Heather Galvin, who runs the business with Henry Galvin, reportedly didn’t have an animal license and said it was the first time the sloth had bitten anyone.
“The child that was bitten was being held by the mother doing selfies,” Galvin told WCSC. “We told the mother three times ... to move but we were ignored. The child was lightly bitten. We refunded them. Texted them for a week to check on them and offered to pay the doctor bills.”
Galvin said the business told the family about safety and “warned them about teeth,” the TV station reported.
But the child and mother countered that narrative, saying they weren’t told that the animal could bite or “given any instructions on how to behave towards the animals, how to interact with the animals, how to feed the animals, or how to pet the animals.”
Instead, the family in the lawsuit said it was given fruit slices and “encouraged to enter the living habitat enclosure of the sloth for the purpose of interacting with, petting, and feeding the sloth.”
Inside the enclosure, the animal bit the child “without warning,” leading to “immense pain and discomfort,” according to the lawsuit.
The family accuses Charleston Sloth and Exotics of failing to run a safe facility and said it is hoping for a jury trial.
Known for their slow speeds, sloths have the potential to weigh up to 17 pounds. The animals have “surprisingly large teeth, which can inflict serious injury if the sloth is scared or irritated,” according to Brevard Zoo in Florida.
“Though they may appear just as endearing as our domestic pets, sloths maintain their natural instincts,” the wildlife center said in a blog post. “Generally, sloths do not like to be pet, groomed or bathed.”
Charleston Sloth and Exotics didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ requests for comment on Thursday.
This story was originally published July 22, 2021 at 10:23 AM.
