Species profile

Name: slow lorises are a group of nocturnal primates in the genus Nycticebus. While it used to be thought they were all the same species, there are now eight recognised types including the Sunda, Bengal, pygmy, Javan, Philippine, Bangka, Bornean, and Kayan River slow loris. 

Appearance: slow lorises have round heads, narrow snouts, and large eyes. Their hands and feet have several adaptations that give them a pincer-like grip and enable them to hold onto branches for long periods of time.

Size: they range in size from 18 to 28 cm and weight from 265 g (Bornean slow loris) to as much as 2.1 kg (Bengal slow loris).

Diet: they are omnivores, eating a combination of insects, small birds and reptiles, eggs, fruits, gums, and nectar.

Did you know: slow lorises have a toxic bite, something rare among mammals and unique to certain primates. The toxins are activated by licking a gland on their arms and mixing the secretions with saliva. The resulting toxic mixture is a deterrent to predators and can also be applied to fur during grooming to help protect infants.

Location: they are found in forests across Southeast Asia, from Bangladesh and India in the west to the Philippines in the east.

Best places to see slow lorises

According to reports submitted to WildSide, the best places to see slow lorises are as follows:

Photo credit: Vladimir Buynevich, under a Creative Commons license from Flickr