The Slow Loris is a small primate inhabiting primary and secondary forests, as well as orchards, plantations and bamboo groves. It is slow moving, arboreal and solitary in habits. Mainly nocturnal, it rests by day in the forks of trees, or in thick vegetation.

The thick, short fur varies in colour from grey-brown to reddish-brown, and a darker stripe extends from the top of the head down the spine, sometimes to the base of the tail. There are dark rings around the eyes, and a thick white stripe between. The tail is short, measuring just 1 or 2 cm. It feeds primarily on large insects and molluscs, but will also take vertebrates such as lizards or fledglings from birds nests. Fruits also contribute to its diet, and it appear to have a fondness for the sap of certain tree species.

A single young is born (occasionally twins) after a gestation period of over six months : the young remain with the mother for up to nine months. Males are territorial.

The species ranges from Eastern India and throughout mainland Southeast Asia to Sumatra, Java, Borneo and the southern Philippines. Isolated populations appear to have survived deforestation in Singapore.

 

Order : PRIMATES
Family : Loridae
Species : Nycticebus coucang

Head-body length : 20-28 cm
Tail length : 1-2 cm
Weight : up to 2 kg

References : M1, M2, M3