Fat lorry. When cute turns deadly - the story of a wildlife biologist who was bitten by a venomous slow loris but lived to tell the tale

Russian name- Slow or slow loris
Latin name- Nycticebus coucang
English name- Slow loris
Class- Mammals (Mammalia)
Squad- Primates
Family- Loridae

For a long time, due to their extreme slowness, lorises were considered sloths, only in 1766 the French naturalist Buffon established that they were in fact prosimians.

Status of the species in nature

The species is on the verge of extinction, included in the International Red Book - IUCN (VU), in the Convention on International Trade in Species wild fauna and flora - CITES I.

Species and man

Humans are destroying the habitats of slow lorises and using the animals themselves as food.

In their homeland, India, lorises became victims of human superstition. Their extraordinary eyes are considered remedies for eye diseases and the evil eye; they are credited with the ability to cast a love spell, and animals are hunted for their eyes. In some places these prosimians are used for food. Large quantity Loris are caught by poachers for sale to exotic animal lovers, since there is a high demand for them in many countries. Most of the captured animals die in the first weeks due to improper care. But still, one of the main reasons for the decline in the number of loris in nature is the destruction tropical forests which are their home.

Distribution and habitats

The slow loris lives in the South East Asia more precisely, from East India to Vietnam, the Malay Peninsula, Western Indonesia and the Philippines. Preferred habitats are rain forest at altitudes up to 1300 m above sea level. These animals do not leave the trees: they feed and sleep high above the ground.

Appearance and morphological features

Small animal: body length 26-38 cm, tail - 1.5-2.5 cm; weight 23-60 grams. Males are almost indistinguishable from females in appearance. The loris has a rounded head with a greatly shortened muzzle and huge eyes that can see in almost complete darkness. The coat is thick and soft, yellow-brown or grayish in color, lighter on the belly. A dark stripe stretches from the head along the back along the spine.

All four limbs are approximately equal in length. The toe pads are widened, all the toes are equipped with nails, with the exception of the second toe, which has a “cosmetic” claw, which is used for combing out fur. The animals move on four limbs, clinging to branches or moving along them. Lorises are capable of catching an insect in flight with their hand and holding it tightly in their leg and continuing to move further along the branch.

An interesting adaptation for life at high altitude is the unusually strong grip of the hands and feet. In loris special structure hands and feet - the second finger is shortened, and the first one extends at an angle of almost 180° and provides a powerful grip. Animals are able to move along branches in any direction and can hang for a long time, holding on with one or two legs. This becomes possible thanks to powerful muscles, and the special location and number of blood vessels in the wrists and ankles. This vascular system is known as the “miraculous network.” It provides the muscles of the limbs with an abundant flow of oxygenated blood and quickly removes metabolic products.

There are many glands on the body of the loris, the secretion of which is used for marking.

Lorises have an unusually strong grip on their arms and legs.

Diet and feeding behavior

All lorises consume a lot of animal protein in the form of invertebrates, bird eggs, small birds, bats and rodents (40%). The rest of the food consists of plant components: fruits (50%), tree resin (gum), flower nectar (10%).

Lorises have a remarkable dietary feature - they eat unpalatable or poisonous invertebrates. These animals, with the help of a wonderful sense of smell and equally wonderful hearing, find slow caterpillars covered with hairs that cause irritation, and even poisonous centipedes. The resin from fruit trees, which lorises scrape from branches with their lower teeth, also contains many toxins. The fact is that the loris has a slow metabolism, its speed is 40 times lower than could be expected based on the size of the animal. This allows time for neutralization in the intestines. toxic substances so that they are not absorbed into the blood.

Lifestyle and social behavior

Lories are active at night, they move and hunt alone. They move, slowly rearranging their limbs, as if “flowing” along the branches, freezing for a long time at the slightest sign of danger. This makes them invisible to enemies and potential prey. However, during the hunt, they are capable of a rapid attack, rushing forward and grabbing the prey with their hands.

Lorises can be classified as those animals that forage alone, but live in socially isolated communities. They lead a solitary lifestyle, sleeping in nests during the day, but at night during feeding they often meet with representatives of their own species, with whom their individual areas overlap. In such cases, animals touch each other, engaging in mutual grooming, or communicate with each other using postures. But most often they receive information about each other through smell and hearing. There are many glandular cells on the skin of the loris - under the chin, on the inside of the arm near the elbow, on the chest, near the genitals. The secretion of these glands, together with the smell of excrement, serves to mark the territory, oneself and members of the opposite sex.

Vocalization

Vocalizations are used primarily for mother-infant communication and for signaling alarm and aggression.

Reproduction, development and parenthood
behavior

Loris have a fairly long pregnancy - about 190 days. 1-2 cubs are born, which the female carries on herself from the moment of their birth. The newborn cub immediately firmly grasps the mother’s fur and does not leave it for up to 14 days. The first days it is closer to the nipple, and then moves throughout her body. Sometimes the female carefully removes the baby from herself and places it in a secluded fork in the branches or in a hollow tree while she goes off to feed. While the mother walks around getting food, the cub sits very quietly and unnoticed. When the cub is uncomfortable, it makes a very loud chirp, and the mother rushes to it.

It is believed that males do not take part in raising the cubs. However, when kept in captivity, the male (this depends on his individual character) sometimes takes over the cub and carries it, but as soon as the child gets hungry, the father approaches the female, and the cub goes to her.

When the baby turns 1-1.5 years old, he becomes old enough to lead an independent life, leaves the territory of his parents and takes up his own area. Sexual maturity in females occurs at 17-21 months, in males at 17-20 months.

Lifespan

In captivity, with proper maintenance and feeding (which is not at all easy to organize), lorises can live up to 25-26 years.

The Story of Life at the Zoo

Slow lorises have lived in the Moscow Zoo since 1980 and successfully reproduce.

The diet includes fruits (bananas, grapes, papaya, apples, kiwi, pears, peaches), Baby Dad cereal, boiled chicken, cottage cheese, quail eggs and live insects.

You can see slow lorises in the “Night World” of the “Monkeys” pavilion on the New Territory of the zoo.

Research work with this species at the Moscow Zoo

Meshik v. A. 1996 “Mutual behavioral adaptation of partners in dyads in two species of Prosimians.” International Journal of Comparative Psychology, vol9, No 4, pp 159-172

Nycticebus

According to 2010 data, the genus Nycticebus consists of four types:
1. Pygmy loris, ( Nycticebuspygmaeus)
2. Javan lory ( Nycticebusjavanicus)
3. Slow loris ( Nycticebuscoucang)
4. Bengal loris ( Nycticebusbengalensis)

The Javan loris was once considered a subspecies, but was later classified as a separate species. These prosimians live in different parts Southeast Asia.

Habitats of the genusNycticebushighlighted in red. IllustrationPrimateInfoNet.

Slow lorises are tree-dwelling primates that walk along branches on four legs. They are omnivores and lead night look. The main diet of the loris is plants and insects. Slow lorises sleep during the day, curled up in the canopy of trees high above the ground. The predators that pose the main threat to their lives are pythons ( Pythonreticulatus), crested eagles ( Spizaetuscirrhatus) and orangutans ( Pongopygmaeus). The metabolism of slow lorises is slightly slower than that of mammals of the same size (Gron, 2009).

Colors and patterns of species and subspecies Nycticebus. Illustration taken from Loris Conservation website.

Different sides of toxicity

The very concept of “poisonous” can have two cardinal meanings: different meanings. (IN English The words “venomous” and “poisonous” can be used interchangeably in speech, but they do not mean the same thing at all). Thus, there are toxins that are secreted by a special organ of the animal and become poisonous only when they enter the victim’s body, for example, with a bite ( Englishvenom). They should be distinguished from ready-made poison, which some animals initially produce using special organs. Such poison enters the victim’s body through inhalation or contact with a poisonous animal ( Englishpoison).

Blue dart frog ( Dendrobatesazureus) is an example of an individual whose mucus contains strong poison, while the spectacled snake ( Najanaja) is considered poisonous due to its deadly venomous bite.

Brachial gland of the slow loris

The flexor or ventral surface of the elbow of the slow loris has a slightly protruding, barely visible knob, which is the brachial gland (Hageye et al., 2006; Kranee et al., 2003). Observations of slow lorises living in captivity have shown that when the animal is disturbed by being handled, it secretes about 10 microliters (μL) of a clear, strong-smelling liquid in the form of apocrine sweat (exudate) from the brachial gland. Usually at this moment both females and males of the slow loris take a defensive pose. They tilt their heads down and lift their front paws up, rubbing secretions from the brachial gland into their head and neck. Loris often lick the brachial gland and rub their head against it. The brachial gland of lorises begins to fully function when they reach the age of 6 weeks (Hageyetal., 2006).

The illustration shows the brachial gland (dark area) on the ventral surface of the slow loris' foot. Drawing by Helga Schulze (Kraneetal., 2003).

Brachial gland secretion and allergenFeld 1

The brachial gland produces an allergen similar to that produced by cats (Hageye et al., 2006; Kranee et al., 2003). This brachial gland secretion is similar to that of a cat not only in sequence, but also in the structure of the heterodimeric disulfide bond. Fel D 1 allergen is found mainly in the saliva and sebaceous glands of domestic cats, Feliscatus. Cat allergy sufferers react to 5 allergens produced by domestic cats, including Fel D 1. However, the biological function of Fel D 1 is still currently unknown (Grönlund et al., 2010).

So are slow lorises actually poisonous?

In order to answer this question, let's remember once again the difference in the definition of the word “poisonous”. A venomous animal injects toxins into the victim's body when it bites. An animal whose body produces toxins can only be potentially poisonous if those toxins enter the victim's body through inhalation or absorption. Literary sources suggest that people become victims of loris venom due to a bite, and not due to the fact that the venom enters the human body through contact with the primate. So are lorises poisonous? Not really.

Slow lorises have needle-sharp teeth on the lower jaw. Given the constant habit of licking the brachial gland, it is not surprising that the sharp teeth and secretions of the brachial gland are related to the poisoning of unsuspecting victims. However, this is not the main thing.

The sharp tooth comb, which can look quite menacing, serves mainly for grooming, and therefore its function is less sinister than imagined. The bite of the slow loris is so painful precisely because of the sharpness of its teeth.

Illustration of slow loris teeth taken from the websiteLorisConservation. The tooth ridge is located on the lower jaw and is shaped like a shovel.

According to Wilde's (1972) reports, victims of slow loris bites go into anaphylactic shock (an extreme allergic reaction) followed by hematuria. Despite this, they always recover. There are no clinical signs of toxic substances in slow loris saliva that would support the myth that they are poisonous (Wilde, 1972).

There is a known case in which a 34-year-old woman, 19 weeks pregnant, was bitten by a pygmy loris in the zoo where she worked. She only complained of a sharp pain in the place where she was bitten. None allergic reactions Moreover, anaphylactic shock was not observed (Kalimullah et al., 2008).

Reports of slow loris bites are not often accompanied by photographs. However, based on such reports, it can be concluded that the loris' bite is not at all poisonous (Kalimullah et al., 2008; Wilde, 1972). Due to the similarity of the loris brachial gland secretion allergen and the Feld 1 allergen of domestic cats, the anaphylactic shock described by victims of loris bites is probably nothing more than a reaction to the secretion allergen.

What is the function of the brachial gland in this case?

Hagey (2007) states that the brachial gland is used as an olfactory signal to indicate home and territory boundaries. Most nocturnal primates rely on their sense of smell, and slow loris no exception. Because the brachial secretion is a response to stress or danger, its function may be to deter predators, warn other lorises of danger, or both (Hagey et al., 2006).

I look forward to studying more of these prosimians and the properties of their brachial gland secretions. A much more in-depth study of the evidence from loris bites is necessary in order to clarify the effect of the secretion of the brachial gland on humans.

Are slow lorises really venomous?

Listliterature :

Gron, K. J. 2009. Primate Factsheets: Slow Loris (Nycticebus) Taxonomy, Morphology & Ecology. Prime Info Net Retrieved October 19, 2010

Grönlund, H. Saarne, T. Gafvelin, G. van Hage, M. 2010. The Major Cat Allergen, Fel d 1, in Diagnosis and Therapy. International Archives of Allergy and Immunology 151(4): 265-274.

Hagey, L.R. Fry, B. G. Fitch-Snyder, H. 2007. Talking Defensively: A Dual Use for the Brachial Gland Exudate of Slow and Pygmy Lorises. Primate Anti-Predatory Strategies 2: 253-272

Krane, S. Itagaki, Y. Nakanishi, K. Weldon, P.J. 2003. “Venom” of the slow loris: sequence similarity of prosimian skin gland protein and Fel d 1 cat allergen. Naturwissenschaften 90: 60-62.

Kalimullah, E.A. Schmidt, S.M. Schmidt, MJ. Lu, J.J. 2008. Beware the Pygmy Slow Loris? Clinical Toxicology 46(7): 602.

Wilde, H. 1972. Anaphylactic Shock Following Bite by a ‘Slow Loris’, Nycticebus coucang. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 21(5): 592-594.

It is probably the most exotic pet of all possible in domestic apartments. This extraordinary creature captivates with its bizarre appearance, because any lover of domestic animals will be happy to hold such a soft fluffy ball with large expressive eyes.

However, few people think that living creatures are different, and keeping such an exotic animal as a lemur requires serious preparation. Today we will analyze Loriids as a taxon, understand their habits, character, and also go through the varieties.

In fact, to be very precise, the loris is not quite a lemur. These animals belong to the suborder of wet-nosed primates, and the Loriidae family itself has for some time now been included in a separate infraorder of Lorisiformes, on an equal footing in the world taxonomy with Lemuriformes. Here's a clarification for lovers of scientific accuracy.

However, the lemur loris is so for a long time belonged to a related taxon, that we will no longer focus our attention on this detail, and will sometimes call this primate in the old fashioned way a lemur. That's what we agreed on.

Habitat

is a pronounced endemic of its habitat.

The native home of this animal is the tropical forests of Southeast Asia; they live mainly in the countries of the Indochinese Peninsula, and some species can also live in India and on the island. Sri Lanka.

Most of the world population of these animals lives in Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, and Cambodia.

Appearance

Well, there's a lot to talk about here. This ex-lemur - real star television screens, not to mention the attention that this funny animal attracts with its intricate appearance from a public unaccustomed to such exoticism.

This animal resembles a cross between a monkey, a sloth and a tarsier. Many people mistakenly believe that the loris is a prosimian. Other “experts” believe that lorises, as well as indris, tupai, tarsiers, arms and galagos are all representatives of the same family.

Yes, everyone except the tupaya is primate. However, they all have significant differences from each other, both external and behavioral. Although galagos are indeed extremely close to this animal in anatomy, as well as appearance. However, we digress.

So what does this little big-eyed primate look like? This is a small animal whose weight, as a rule, ranges from 250 g to 1.5 kg. depending on the variety. The colors of different types of these animals may also differ. But we will still give a generalized description.

This primate usually has a brownish-red coat color. It has very tenacious limbs adapted for climbing trees. They help the animal with this thin fingers which are equipped with sharp claws. But there was no luck with the loris tail.

Nature did not endow this animal with tenacious long tail, like the same lemurs or monkeys. On the other hand, is it really needed by a rather slow, measured animal, which is not at all accustomed to jumping from branch to branch, emitting wild screams, as its more reckless relatives in the order do?

On the head of the animal there is a pair of small ears and a pair of very large eyes. The eyes of the loris are a separate matter. This one is the same business card looks like the spectacled pattern of a cobra or the luxurious tail of a peacock.

The eyes of this primate are really very large, round, like 2 saucers. Moreover, there is a dark edging around them, forming glasses. This gives the animal a pitiful appearance, perhaps stimulating the desire to have such a charmer at home as a pet among lovers of cute exotics.

Well, the description of this small primate It would be incomplete if we forgot to mention his very sharp teeth. This ex-lemur has needle-sharp teeth, which he uses when asserting his rights to territory or a female.

Varieties

The Loriidae family is not as diverse as other taxonomic groups of the primate order.

Today there are only 3 main types of Loriaceae, namely:

Slender lorises.
Slow loris.
Small slow lorises.

The slender loris is the smallest of all. The length of its body is 16-22 cm, its tail is 5 cm, and its weight is only 250-300 g. This animal is no larger than a squirrel in size, but it is the same primate as its larger relatives. However, it is not smaller in size than other Loriids, this is a fact.

The habitat of these big-eyed babies is the evergreen tropical forests of India, as well as about. Sri Lanka.

This species has several subspecies. Namely, there are gray and red slender lorises. The gray subspecies has a characteristic ash color, while the red subspecies differs from other varieties in its reddish-beige color.

The small slow loris, or slow loris, as it is also called, will be larger in size than the slender loris. Their body length ranges from 18-25 cm, and their weight can reach 700 g.

This primate lives in bamboo and tropical forests Thailand, Vietnam and Laos. This slow loris leads the same nocturnal lifestyle as its other brothers. The small loris is beige in color over most of its body with a rufous rump. Otherwise, this pygmy loris differs little in general external features from other varieties.

The great slow loris is a real giant next to its fellow taxon. These big-eyed animals can reach 20-36 cm in length without a tail, and the weight of some individuals can be 1.2-1.5 kg.

The slow loris and, especially, the red slender loris can feel like dwarfs next to such a relative, being almost half the size of the largest representative of the family.

Such animals live in almost all countries of the Indochina Peninsula, as well as in Bangladesh, India and even in the western part of the Philippine Island.

If we do not say a bad word about other animals of this taxon regarding their behavior, then such a “monkey” can pose a danger to humans. When irritated, this primate uses its sharp teeth, which, moreover, are equipped with a kind of poison. Such is the poisonous loris, as it turns out.

This poisonous species has several subspecies. We will focus on just one. The Javan slow loris is notable because it is on the verge of extinction, including due to the capture of these animals for the purpose of selling them as pets.

Lifestyle and behavior

Now let's talk about the character traits of these animals, and also get acquainted with their way of life in the wild.

All species and subspecies of this family, be it the Javan loris or the red slender loris, are endemic to the evergreen tropical forests of South and East Asia, as we have already said.

They prefer to live at heights, among the treetops. These primates practically do not descend to the ground at all. These are exclusively arboreal creatures, well adapted to the habitat that nature has assigned them.

In some ways, these animals resemble sloths. They are also slow and unhurried, never in a hurry.

To move along branches and tree trunks, these animals are equipped with very strong limbs, as well as tenacious toes. The owners of these animals know very well that removing a loris that has grabbed onto something is the most difficult task.

They are also exclusively nocturnal and twilight creatures, whose eyes are perfectly adapted for night vision and are not at all designed for daytime vigil.

In the light of day, as soon as it dawns, these animals hide in the dense foliage among the branches and go to bed. An excellent night light for these high-altitude climbers are hollow trees or abandoned bird nests, where it is quite possible to find a sleeping animal curled up.

With the onset of dusk, the animal wakes up, washes itself, and behaves actively, as they say. Further, when night darkness reigns over the forest, the animal goes in search of food.

The diet of this primate includes plant foods with some inclusions of protein foods. Regardless of the species, be it a large Javan loris or a smaller red slender loris, this animal happily eats all kinds of fruits, but does not disdain to feast on bird eggs, and can catch and eat a small lizard or even a bird.

This lemur's diet also includes insects, including poisonous caterpillars and beetles, as well as the resin of some trees.

Lemur loris at home

A domestic lemur is nonsense for a naturalist, but quite normal for a simple lover of glamorous exoticism. Let's say it right away and directly.

Despite the fact that primates of various species, especially from the Loriidae family, are often bought and kept at home, such a purchase cannot be called otherwise than inappropriate. Not to mention the moral component of the issue.

Of the hundreds of lovers, only a few have all the necessary knowledge of how to properly care for such a pet, and what the consequences of improper maintenance and handling of the toothy primate are for both the owner and the animal itself.

We have already mentioned more than once such a species as the Javan loris. This is not just one of the large varieties of its taxon, but a species officially classified by the world conservation community as an endangered animal species.

This endemic inhabitant of the island. Java has been subjected to barbaric human persecution for many years. After all, it was the Javan loris that for a long time was the same loris in a cage, imprisoned in captivity due to its attractive and funny appearance.

Which, together with the destruction of the habitat in its homeland, has now led to such a disastrous state of affairs for this species.

The popular name of the animal lemur loris became famous in connection with the expensive acquisitions of exotic animals as domestic pets.

This mammal is considered one of the few surviving oldest animals on the planet. All representatives of the species are classified as protected objects and included in.

Features and habitat

The animal is easy to remember after seeing it once big eyes, surrounded by dark spots and separated by a yellowish stripe. Nature has endowed him with good night vision thanks to the reflective substance tapetum, which allows him to navigate in the dark. The eyes may have given rise to the name "Loeris", which means "clown" in Dutch.

In 1766, the French naturalist Georges Buffon called the loris a prosimian (lemur), when it was thought to be slow. Today there are three main types:

slender loris;
slow loris (lemur loris);
dwarf (small) loris.

Each species is divided into several subspecies. Zoologists consider them to be a species of wet-nosed primates, mistakenly classified as.

The forests of South and Southeast Asia in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and India are places where funny animals are distributed. The homeland is considered to be Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore.

The body of the animal, depending on the species, ranges in size from 20 to 40 cm, and weight from 0.3 to 1.6 kg. Loris are covered with short, dense and soft fur of a brownish or yellow-gray color.

Pictured is a slender loris

The abdomen is always lighter in color. A dark stripe always runs along the spine like a belt. Small head with a short muzzle. The ears are small and round. The tail is either completely absent or protrudes 1.7-2 cm and is covered with hair, so it is hardly noticeable. Lori is fat distinguished by the presence of white areas on the head.

The fore and hind limbs are approximately equal in size, equipped with grasping and tenacious hands and feet. The toes have nails, among which there are special “cosmetic” claws for grooming.

Unusual big-eyed animals live on the tops of trees, in dense crowns. Different types They live in lowland forests or high mountains. They almost never go down to the ground, they lead wood image life.

Pictured is a slow loris

Lories are often called slow for their indifference to sudden and fast movements. Sad eyes emphasize their individual expressiveness.

Character and lifestyle

Lemur loris - animal night. Activity begins in the evening, night is the time of hunting, and the animal falls asleep only after the sun rises. Bright light is contraindicated for them; they can go blind and die from the blinding rays. Twilight is a comfortable living environment.

They sleep in balls of fur in the trees, holding their feet to a branch and hiding their heads at their feet. The animal can find a convenient place to rest in a hollow or fork in the branches.

Loris move slowly, carefully, grasping the branches from below with all their paws. At the slightest danger, they freeze and can remain motionless for a long time, without moving a single leaf, until the threat from some predatory night bird passes. Animals have excellent hearing.

They are naturally curious and playful. They explore and know their territories well. The animals are very tenacious and strong for their small size; their limbs are ideally suited for climbing branches.

It is known that lorises, in addition to hunting insects and small vertebrates, remove the bark of individual trees and drink the secreted sap. In nature, they never suffer from periodontal disease. There are lorises that are individualistic, having their own areas and leading a solitary lifestyle. And some species do not tolerate loneliness and live in pairs.

In captivity, as a rule, they live in family pairs or groups (a male and several females or a parent pair and cubs). Lorises protect their territory from random incursions of their relatives.

They always stay hidden, in the thick of green branches at a height, which makes it difficult to conduct research behind them. Many conclusions were drawn from studying animals in captivity at research centers.

The voices of lorises are different: at a great distance you can hear a whistle, and up close you can hear chattering sounds with cubs. Animals have the ability to communicate in an ultrasonic range that is inaudible to humans. You can observe animals silently pushing each other with their paws.

The exchange of information may occur in parallel at another level. Sometimes a ball of fur is formed from several lorises intertwined with limbs and hanging on a tree.

This is how they communicate, play, conduct their tidbit section and determine the internal hierarchy. A seemingly harmless animal has a secret and... terrible weapon. The animal's elbows contain glands containing poison, the contents of which are sucked out and mixed with saliva. The bite can be fatal. But, fortunately, such danger overtakes the loris infrequently, secret weapon used in exceptional cases.

Eating the lemur loris

In nature, the loris' diet consists of various crickets, lizards, and their eggs. A special feature of the loris is the ability to feed on poisonous caterpillars and insects, as well as consume tree resin. Plant food also plays an important role: the loris never refuses fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowering parts of plants.

In captivity, animals are fed baby cereals with added oils, honey, fresh juices, vitamin complexes, and dried fruits. It should be noted that individual individuals have their own taste preferences and habits. In general, the diet should be rich in calcium and protein.

House lemur lory can be tamed if it receives its favorite food from the hands of its owner. Insects for feeding should be purchased from pet stores to avoid infections from random street carriers.

Reproduction and lifespan

Animals are selective in their search for a mate; individuals of different sexes cannot always form a family. Pregnancy lasts a little more than 6 months and, as a rule, 1-2 cubs are born. The babies appear covered in fur, with their eyes open. They hold tightly to the mother's belly, clinging to the fur.

The female carries the baby on herself for about 1.5-2 months. Lactation lasts approximately 4-5 months. Babies can wander from mother to father or close relative, hang on them, and then move to their mother for feeding.

Parents take care of their offspring jointly, but maternal activity is still higher. Only after a year and a half, the stronger offspring become independent and begin to start their own families.

Life expectancy is on average 12-14 years. There are examples where good care significantly increased life expectancy lemur loris.How long do they live? in captivity, depends on the absence of infections and the creation of conditions close to natural. Animals can survive up to 20-25 years.

Unfortunately, a fashion has arisen for breeding lori. Price funny animal is tall, but exotic lovers are trying to make a business out of keeping young animals for sale lemur loris. Buy animal is allowed, but without special knowledge and skills in handling the most ancient genus, it is difficult to gain the trust of the big-eyed primate.

SMALL LORIS(Nycticebus pygmaeus) is a small animal of the Loriidae family, the size of a large chipmunk: its body length does not exceed 23 cm, and its weight is 800 g. This animal lives in dense tropical forests and bamboo groves in Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and parts of China and Cambodia. Sometimes the small slow loris is classified as a lemur, which is not reality.
Externally, the animal looks funny. Its body is covered with short and dense hair, the color of which varies from brownish-gray to dark rusty, a dark stripe of fur stretches along the spine, and there is no tail.
On a short round head there are huge eyes and small ears. The eyes are bordered with black circles, and a light stripe runs across the bridge of the nose, as if he is wearing a clown mask. By the way, the small slow loris got its name from the Dutch language, from which it is translated as “clown.”

The surprising thing is that this primate is poisonous. On the inside of the elbow joint there are glands, the secretions of which, when mixed with saliva, turn into a very strong poison. This is so unusual for primates that the small loris received the first line in, which are unknown to the general public.
The animal leads a twilight and nocturnal lifestyle. The loris spends most of its time in the crowns tall trees, where he finds shelter, food, and protection from enemies. The unique structure of its paws allows it to hold on to tree branches with a death grip for hours and hang on two limbs without getting tired at all. The slow loris moves very slowly and carefully, so that even the foliage of trees often remains undisturbed, which resembles the walking style of a chameleon. But, unlike lemurs and galagos, this species has lost the ability to jump well.

Small lorises live solitarily. Each individual has its own territory, which it marks with urine, but the males' territories are larger, and often overlap several females' territories. The male learns that the female is ready to mate by the enzymes she secretes along with her urine. After fertilization, the female carries one or two cubs for 188 days. Small slow lorises do not build any nests; babies are born on any suitable branch. They are born fully formed, and for some time they travel on their parents, clinging to their fur with their paws.

After two weeks, the cubs can already move independently in the treetops following their mother, simultaneously learning to search for food from the example of an adult. Until approximately 9 months, the young remain with the female (the male does not participate in raising the offspring). By this time, females are already able to mate, while males become sexually mature at the age of 18-20 months.
In the wild small slow loris feeds on both plant and animal food: insects and their larvae, beetles, small birds and eggs, lizards, fruits and other vegetation. The animal finds its prey with the help of acute binocular vision and smell, and eats it hanging on its hind limbs, holding food with its front legs.