About the Slow Loris

The Slow Lorises scientific name is Nycticebus ( Latin - ‘night monkey’)

They can be found in a wide range of countries across southern Asia and western Indonesia, including parts of Bangladesh, Thailand, Burma, Indonesia, the Philippines, China,  Malaysia, and many other islands in the Indian Ocean. They are usually found in tall trees in tropical rain-forests, they love warm areas.

The current population of slow lorises is in decline

Because slow lorises are nocturnal and the areas they live in are  ‘politically restricted’, it is hard to determine the exact amount of them that remain in the wild. Recent estimates put their population around one million.But it is known that the population is currently in decline and this is not only because that they are endangered by humans, but they also have a very slow reproduction rate so it is hard to repopulate.

Why is it threatened and what are the risk factors to its survival?

Slow lorises are threatened in two ways, firstly their habitats are being destroyed by logging so they have nowhere to live, and secondly because there is a high demand for them in illegal trade for both their fur that is used in traditional medicines and as pets.

Humans are the biggest impact on the slow lorises survival, what we do will determine whether or not the slow loris becomes extinct. If we continue to destroy their natural habitat and steal them away to have as cute pets they will become extinct fast.

What is being done to help the Loris?

Organisations such as International Animal Rescue have established programs to help rescue and rehabilitate lorises that have been abused or sold illegally and there  are laws in place so that slow lorises can be confiscated and sent to places where they will be rehabilitated. There are also people who go out to schools to help educate children on the cruelty to the poor creatures and universities and research facilities are trying to see what the can do to find a way to help slow lorises who have lost their teeth.

What can you do to help?

 There are many things that us as the community can do to help too, such as:

*  Sponsor a loris though International Animal Rescue

*  Never keep a slow loris or any other primate as a pet

*  Watch and share Tickling slow loris - the truth and Slow_loris_loves_getting_tickled

*  Become an advocate and spread the word through social networking sights and by word of mouth about what is being done to slow lorises

*  Protect slow loris habitat from the spread of palm oil plantations by asking your supermarkets only to sell products with palm oil from sustainable forests.

*  Sign this petition asking YouTube to remove videos of captive slow lorises.

http://lemur.duke.edu/slow-loris-lemur-habitat-conservation/

http://www.internationalanimalrescue.org/projects/25/Saving+the+slow+loris.html