Three sloths freeze to death at Belgian airport, sparking investigation

Authorities in Wallonia have opened a probe into the death of three sloths during a stopover at Liège airport, after the cargo jet on which they were being transported to Malaysia got stuck in a snowstorm. The plane “was supposed to transit for two hours to refuel, but was not able to take off due to the weather conditions,” and was stuck in Liège on January 21 for 24 hours, said Wallonia Public Service spokesperson Nicolas Yernaux. “For a reason that has yet to be determined and that is part of the investigation that we are conducting, the heating stopped or was stopped” on the plane, he added. By the time Swissport — one of the biggest airport services companies in the world, which was in charge of organizing transport of the sloths — warned the Belgian authorities, three of the nine sloths that were on the plane had died. Qatar Airways Cargo, which operated the flight, confirmed the three fatalities and said sorry. “Qatar Airways Cargo apologizes unreservedly for this loss, which is currently being fully investigated,” a Qatar Airways spokesman told POLITICO. Contrary to previous reports from several Belgian outlets, the animals in question were two-toed sloths, not sloth bears, the Wallonian spokesperson said. According to the Belgian authorities, the six remaining sloths were examined by vets, placed in heated rooms and rehydrated. Once the sloths’ condition improved, the vets “assessed that the best [thing] was for them to reach their final destination, Kuala Lumpur, as quickly as possible,” the Wallonian spokesperson said.<br/>