THURMONT, Md. — They’re cute, cuddly, and known for taking life very slow. But you don’t have to travel to Central or South America to meet one.
There’s a hidden gem in Thurmont that brings the rainforest a little closer to home, Catoctin Wildlife Preserve.
Sunshine, Shelby, and Syd are the preserve’s resident sloths.
“Sloths are pretty slow, but they do have a pretty quick couple of defensive arm movements,” said Callan Hahn, director of the preserve. “Ours don’t really do that much because they’re comfortable in here.”
The habitat is kept warm and humid, similar to a natural rainforest. And while they may look relaxed, sloths are incredibly strong.
“Their arms and their hands are very strong because they’re carrying all of their body weight,” Hahn explained. “When they’re sleeping, they’re holding themselves up by eight fingers.”
There’s one myth the sloths want cleared up, they don’t actually sleep all day. In the wild, sloths sleep about 8 to 10 hours a day. The rest of the time, they’re in what’s known as “active rest.”
The preserve has been a part of the Hahn family for decades.
“The motto of the zoo when my father started it and still today, is bringing people and animals closer together,” Hahn said.
His parents bought the land in 1966, starting with a small snake farm. Today, it has grown into a 160-acre zoo.
“It’s a little scary and awe-inspiring, and it’s a huge honor to take something my father built from almost nothing,” he said.
On busy days, Hahn says visitors often share how the preserve has been part of their lives for generations.
“My grandparents brought me here when I was 4 years old and now they have their children here,” he said. “That’s awesome. That’s why we’re here.”
Hahn grew up right in the middle of it all, surrounded by goats, monkeys, capybaras, wolves, and jaguars.
"That's one of the perks growing up, I know a lot of these animals from birth to death." he said.
Back inside the sloth habitat, there’s even another unique resident, Armand the armadillo.
“His defense is he curls up into a ball and his body is like a puzzle piece,” Hahn said. “He’s got this plate on top of his head and his whole body locks together with his tail.”
The sloths at the preserve are considered ambassador animals, helping educate visitors and inspire conservation.
Money from these encounters goes right back to the animals. Hahn says they’re currently building a new greenhouse for the sloths, three times the size of their current space. Additional funds are donated to conservation efforts and global nonprofits that protect animals in their natural habitats.
For more infomation on Catoctin Wildlife Preserve, click here.
