The apparent friendliness of “smiling” sloths have made them tourist darlings, but have also put a target on their backs. In their home range of South and Central America, tourism companies encourage customers to take photos with sloths, and the government fears the smuggling of animals across country borders. The rise in sloth trafficking has led the governments of Brazil, Costa Rica and Panama to propose stricter rules for the international trade of two sloth species, with the goal of preventing them from sliding into extinction.This article was originally published on Mongabay

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