To avoid predators, a mother Slow Loris licks its offspring with poison before sending them off to search for food.
Slow lorises are a group of several
species of
nocturnal strepsirrhine primates which make up the
genus Nycticebus. Found in
Southeast Asia and bordering areas, they range from
Bangladesh and
Northeast India in the west to the
Philippines in the east, and from
Yunnan province in China in the north to the island of
Java
in the south. Although many previous classifications recognized as few
as a single all-inclusive species, there are now at least eight that are
considered valid: the
Sunda slow loris (
N. coucang),
Bengal slow loris (
N. bengalensis),
pygmy slow loris (
N. pygmaeus),
Javan slow loris (
N. javanicus),
Bornean slow loris (
N. menagensis),
N. bancanus,
N. borneanus, and
N. kayan. The group's closest relatives are the
slender lorises of southern India and Sri Lanka. Their next closest relatives are the African
lorisids, the
pottos,
false pottos, and
angwantibos. They are less closely related to the remaining
lorisoids (the various types of
galago), and more distantly to the
lemurs of
Madagascar. Their evolutionary history is uncertain since their
fossil record is patchy and
molecular clock studies have given inconsistent results.
Slow lorises have a round head, narrow snout, large eyes, and a
variety of distinctive coloration patterns that are species-dependent.
Their arms and legs are nearly equal in length, and their
trunk
is long, allowing them to twist and extend to nearby branches. The
hands and feet of slow lorises have several adaptations that give them a
pincer-like grip and enable them to grasp branches for long periods of
time. Slow lorises have a toxic bite, a trait rare among mammals and
unique to lorisid primates. The
toxin is obtained by licking a
gland on their arm, and the
secretion is activated by mixing with
saliva.
Their toxic bite is a deterrent to predators, and the toxin is also
applied to the fur during grooming as a form of protection for their
infants. 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. Slow lorises move slowly and deliberately, making little or
no noise, and when threatened, they stop moving and remain motionless.
Their only documented predators—apart from humans—include snakes,
changeable hawk-eagles and
orangutans, although cats,
civets and
sun bears are suspected. Little is known about their social structure, but they are known to communicate by
scent marking.
Males are highly territorial. Slow lorises reproduce slowly, and the
infants are initially parked on branches or carried by either parent.
They are
omnivores, eating small animals, fruit,
tree gum, and other vegetation.
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 three newest species are yet to be evaluated, but they arise from
(and further reduce the ranks of) 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. All slow
lorises are threatened by the
wildlife trade and
habitat loss. Their habitat is rapidly disappearing and becoming
fragmented, making it nearly impossible for slow lorises to
disperse between forest fragments; unsustainable demand from the
exotic pet trade and from
traditional medicine
has been the greatest cause for their decline. Deep-rooted beliefs
about the supernatural powers of slow lorises, such as their purported
abilities to ward off evil spirits or to cure wounds, have popularized
their use in traditional medicine. Despite local laws prohibiting trade
in slow lorises and slow loris products, as well as protection from
international commercial trade under
Appendix I,
slow lorises are openly sold in animal markets in Southeast Asia and
smuggled to other countries, such as Japan. Due in part to the large
eyes that are an adaptation to their nocturnal lifestyle, they have also
been popularized as '
cute' pets in
viral videos on
YouTube.
Slow lorises have their teeth cut or pulled out for the pet trade. They
make poor pets that are difficult to care for, and often die from
infection, blood loss, improper handling or inadequate nutrition.
