Slow Loris
Loris Awareness Week
The Duke Lemur Center is celebrating Loris Awareness Week! The Little Fireface Project started Loris Awareness Week this year, running September 16-22, to highlight these amazing little primates and their plight in the wild. Headed by Dr. Anna Nekaris, the Little Fireface Project promotes research of slow and slender lorises, produces educational content about...
Overview
Slow lorises are one of three species of loris maintained at the Lemur Center (the others are pygmy slow lorises and slender lorises). All three of these species are members of the family Lorisidae which includes lorises, galagos and pottos and consists of 9 genera and 8 species found in Africa south of the Sahara,...
Feeding
The slow loris does all of its feeding at night, moving stealthily and deliberately through the darkness. As with other lorises, this species is an arboreal feeder that prefers to forage alone. These animals are omnivorous, eating many different types of plant and animal material. Fruits and gums make up more than 50% of the...
Fact Sheet
Order: Primates; Suborder: Prosimii Superfamily: Lorisoidea; Family: Lorisidae Genus: Nycticebus; Species: coucang Related Species The pygmy loris (Nycticebus pygmaeus) lives in the same area, and is similar in behavior to the slow loris. Key Facts Adult Size : 1.8 – 2.9 pounds Natural Range : Southeast Asia and western Indonesia Social life : Solitary nocturnal...
Reproduction
Slow lorises breed every 12 to 18 months, at a time of year when seasonal food levels are rising to a maximum. Females may come into estrus at any time of year. When in estrus they make frequent high-pitched whistles to attract a mate. After a gestation period of 191 days, females give birth to...
Social Behavior
Because they are nocturnal and not widely distributed throughout their range, the social behavior of slow lorises has historically been difficult to study. Nonetheless, several studies have been conducted and are now invaluable sources of information. Males and females generally forage separately, coming together only to breed. Females leave their young behind when they venture...
Habitat/Conservation
Slow lorises occupy a wide range across southern Asia and western Indonesia, including parts of Bangladesh, Burma, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and many other isolated islands in the Indian Ocean. They are generally found high in the trees in tropical rainforests, preferring warm, lowland areas below 1300 meters (4265 ft.) in elevation. Slow...
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