The 20^th of October marks one of the cutest days in the animal calendar – International Sloth Day. These slow moving, tree hugging sleep enthusiasts are some of the most relatable animals to humans, so in honour of this special day, The Green Planet invites visitors to pay homage to these glorious creatures.

Since 2010, International Sloth Day has been raising awareness about the many sloths that suffer from the effects of deforestation, habitat loss and the illegal animal trade. Established by non-profit organisation AIUNAU in a bid to raise awareness, well-being, and conservation of sloths, The Green Planet is fully supporting of this cause and encourages visitors to learn more about the exotic creatures.

The David Attenborough’s of Dubai are invited to take a leaf out of their book and take life at a slower pace with a visit to The Green Planet which is home to over 3,000 exotic plants and animals, including two Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth named Liam and Lola, The Green Planet’s famed residents who have called the tropical rainforest home since it opened its doors in 2016.

Visitors can find the pair exploring the biodome throughout the day or book in to experience The Sloth Encounter daily at 2.30pm for just AED 235 per person. This 30-minute up close and personal encounter includes touching and feeding the sloths and an insight into their care and conditioning from one of The Green Planet’s specialist keepers.

Did you know – Liam and Lola share a love of sweet potato, grapes and SLEEP? Lola’s daily routine is to sleep for a few hours at a time, then wake up to eat and move around the biome for up to an hour. Liam, on the other hand, is slightly on the lazier side and will usually sleep for 4-6 hours at a time, waking up for food.

The Green Planet takes full account for their animal’s well-being and hope to continue to keep Dubai informed on animal welfare, a prime topic and growing concern in the region. With entry as low as AED 99 when purchased online, everyone can experience the wide range of exciting and educational activities The Green Planet has to offer.

From watching a feeding frenzy with over 1,000 flesh eating piranhas to exploring the regions only bat cave and taking a trip ‘down under’ at The Australian Walkabout, the bio dome is split into five interactive sections for guests to explore and offers an incredibly educational day out for all.

Did You Know:

• In total, there are six species of sloth, typically found in Central and South America, including the Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth, two of which are happy to call The Green Planet home.
• Sloths can be expected to sleep between 15 to 20 hours a day – talk about work/life balance!
• To help sloths become vulnerable to their predators they grow green algae and fungus in their fur to help them camouflage.
• Evidence suggests that there may once have been sloths as large as trees! Known as Megatherium, these huge ground-sloths were estimated to have stood at around 20ft tall, weighing in at around 4,000kg!
• While sloths spend most of their days hanging out in trees, it is a little-known fact that they actually love to swim and are very adept at doing so.