Sleepovers generally entail cheesy movies, board games and a lot of snacks. Now you can invite a sloth to your slumber party activities. The Zoological Wildlife Conservation Center in Rainier, Oregon allows guests to participate in the sleepover party with the slow-moving creature.
Throughout the year, campers are permitted to sleep inside the colony sloth habitats at the center. Prices open and private enrollment costs between $300-$1,200 per person. The cost of the overnight program does increase during certain seasons. Their website makes clear that their busiest time is between mid-June and September.
With the fee, all customers are given a tent cot that they can share with another person in their party. There are also televisions within the center that customers are allowed to use.
Along with a tent, their website notes that guests will be given a t-shirt which hilariously reads “I Slept With a Sloth”.
According to their mission statement, the organization is “dedicated to rescuing sloths, researching how to keep them alive in safe-houses, and educating the public”. All interactions with sloths will happen between 8 p.m. and 7:30 a.m. During that interaction time, guests can watch the animals in their habitat and hanging from camper’s tents.
Their website does note that customers are not permitted to hold the sloths. This is due to “acute detrimental effects” that will occur after being held. However, for an extra $100, you can have a private pet and feed session with the animal.
A representative at the ZWCC’s Sloth Captive Husbandry Center stated to HuffPost “This is ideal for us and our sloths because we are a captive conservation center [first] and foremost and not a ‘for public entertainment zoo’. It allows the sloths all of the ultra quiet rest periods that they need to stay healthy. We do not double stack visitors to one group of sloths – they require their 15-18 hours of ‘beauty sleep’ per day.”
Sarah is a Hufflepuff living in NYC. When she is not traveling or talking to random animals, she is working as a script writer. Tweet her at @lumpyspacederp
