Slow lorises are nocturnal, meaning that they are active during the night and sleep during the day; they are arboreal, spending their lives living in trees. Slow lorises are omnivores, eating small animals, insects, fruit, tree gum, and other vegetation. Slow lorises also move slowly and deliberately, making little or no noise, and when threatened, they stop moving and remain immobile.
Slow lorises are native to the rainforests of South Asia and Southeast Asia. Thailand is home to two species of slow loris; the greater slow loris Nycticebus coucang and the Bengal slow loris Nycticebus bengalensis. What we know about the slow loris is very limited as their behavior in the wild is difficult to study due to their rainforest habitat and nocturnal and cryptic often relatively solitary, silent and inconspicuous lifestyles.
Their predators besides humans are orangutans, hawk-eagles and snakes; Males are highly territorial; They communicate by scent-marking; They reproduce slowly, and baby lorises are either parked on branches or carried by either parent; And they have a rare and unique trait among mammals — their bites are TOXIC.
As the only group of venomous primates, slow lorises were already seen as oddities in the animal kingdom, and for decades, scientists debated why a primate would evolve to be venomous. They originally hypothesized that the venom was used to defend themselves from predators or to ward off parasites.
To finally uncover how lorises use venom in the wild, Nekaris and her team of researchers spent eight years studying critically endangered Javan slow lorises in Java, Indonesia. They collectively logged 7, hours studying the lorises' behaviors and health; they equipped 82 lorises with radio collars to track their movements, and the team captured individuals every few months to monitor their health.
During their routine health checks, the team found that 20 percent of all the lorises had fresh bite wounds inflected by other lorises. Around a third of the females and 57 percent of the males showed signs of a bite; younger lorises also had more bites than older individuals.
The team concluded that slow lorises are viciously territorial, and they use venom as their weapon of choice. Saving the slow loris from the illegal pet trade in Java.
The problem Javan slow loris — endangered but could soon be reclassified as critically endangered These beautiful animals are taken from the wild to sell as pets at cruel animal markets in Indonesia.
The solution We are working with The Little Fireface Project to find out how to give slow lorises the very best chance when rescued and returned to the wild. Latest updates The team have recently published a scientific paper on a very important topic — the use of Instagram to fuel illegal trade in slow loris photo props. This trade has made it very sadly to Europe, where tourists can have their photo taken with a slow loris in Turkey. They have also been studying the development of young slow lorises.
In the wild, they walk slowly but surely along branches, carefully putting one foot in front of the other until they sight a possible meal such as an insect. When food is sighted, the loris grips the branch tightly with its hind feet while holding its body and front legs upright and away from the branch. It then lunges forward with its body and front legs, grasping the prey in the tight grip of the front paws.
Our slow loris are fed vegetables, crickets, locusts, mealworms and pellets which help to keep their teeth clean. They are also given arabic gum on branches, which encourages their natural behaviour - using their teeth to gnaw the bark and reach the gum or treesap in the wild. These primates are found mainly in the tropical, dry forests of Asia when in the wild - including China, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Their nocturnal lifestyle allows them to avoid competing with the other primates that share their habitat.
The slow loris is classed as Endangered. The Vietnam war very nearly wiped out this species of loris; the forest in which it lives was extensively cut down, burned or defoliated.
While military action in its home range has ceased, destruction of forests for agricultural and development purposes continues. Please don't share or like videos of slow lorises which are held as pets. It encourages pet trade and endangers the survival of slow lorises in the wild.
For more information follow this link to a website made by the organisation International Vet Rescue: www. Our pygmy slow loris are trained to sit on scales so they can be weighed regularly, as the species puts on weight very easily.
Pygmy slow loris are primates, so they are actually related to gorillas!
0コメント