Slow loris

Slow lorises are strepsirrhine primates that make up the genus Nycticebus. Found in Southeast Asia and bordering areas, they range from Bangladesh and Northeast India in the west to the Sulu Archipelago in the Philippines in the east. They are omnivores, eating small animals, fruit, tree gum, and other vegetation. The exotic pet trade and from traditional medicine has been the greatest cause for their decline.

About Slow loris in brief

Slow lorises are strepsirrhine primates that make up the genus Nycticebus. Found in Southeast Asia and bordering areas, they range from Bangladesh and Northeast India in the west to the Sulu Archipelago in the Philippines in the east. They have a round head, a narrow snout, large eyes, and a variety of distinctive coloration patterns that are species-dependent. They are omnivores, eating small animals, fruit, tree gum, and other vegetation. Their only documented predators—apart from humans—include snakes, changeable hawk-eagles and orangutans, although cats, viverrids and sun bears are suspected. They make poor pets as they are nocturnal, have specialized diets, are difficult to care for, and often die from infection, blood loss or inadequate nutrition. They also have a toxic bite, a trait rare among mammals and unique among the primates. The secretion from the arm contains a chemical related to cat allergen, but may be augmented by secondary toxins from the diet in wild individuals. The toxin is obtained by licking a sweat gland on their arm, and the secretion is activated by mixing with saliva. The three newest species are yet to be evaluated, but they arise from what was thought to be a single \”vulnerable\” species. All four of these are expected to be listed with at least the same, if not a higher-risk, conservation status. Each of the slow loris species that had been identified prior to 2012 is listed as either \”Vulnerable\” or \”Endangered\” on the IUCN Red List.

The exotic pet trade and from traditional medicine has been the greatest cause for their decline. Due in part to the large eyes that are an adaptation to their nournal lifestyle, they have also been popularized as ‘cute’ pets in viral videos on YouTube. Despite local laws prohibiting trade in slow lorise and slow loros products, as well as protection from international commercial trade under Appendix I, slow lOrises are openly sold in animal markets in Southeast Asian and smuggled to other countries, such as Japan. They often have their teeth cut or pulled out for the pet trade, and they often die of infection, infection, and blood loss from improper handling or improper nutrition. Pottos, false pottos and angwantibos are most closely followed by the slender lorisids of South Asia, the galagos and lemurs of Madagascar, and Potti’s lorisoids of Madagascar. Potti’s are related to other living lorisoid primates and are known as slender lorosoids, pottas, false loris, and ang Wantibos. Slow lorisids are closely related to the African lorisid, the pottios,false potto, and Angwantibo. They are known to communicate by scent marking. Males are highly territorial and the infants are initially parked on branches or carried by either parent.

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