Slender loris

File:Slender Loris.jpg, Loris lydekkerianus, is found in India and Sri Lanka.]]

The type species was named Lemur tardigradus by Linnaeus in 1758. The name Loris is first reported Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1765, representing the Dutch loeris meaning "clown". According to Buffon, the name loeris had been in use for some time by Dutch naturalists for the "sloths of Ceylon".Osman Hill, W.C.. Primates: Comparative Anatomy and Taxonomy. Strepsirhini. Edinburgh, Scotland: Edinburgh University Press, 1952, 44f.

The genus Loris was separated from lemurs by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (1796), based on a suggestion of a Lorican genus by Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton (1792). Saint-Hilaire's Loris at first included Daubenton's type species, Loris de Buffon, which he however delegated to the new Nycticebus genus in 1812.Catalogue méthodique de collection des Mammifères, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle (1851), [https://books.google.com/books?id=7-9hAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA78 p. 78].

File:Sri Lankan Slender Loris 2.jpg, Loris tardigradus, is found in Sri Lanka.]]

In India, slender lorises are known as {{Transliteration|te|devanga-pilli}} ({{Lang|te|దేవాంగ పిల్లి}}) or {{Transliteration|te|arawe-papa}} in Telugu, {{Transliteration|kn|kaadu-paapa}} ({{Lang|kn|ಕಾಡು ಪಾಪ}}) in Kannada, Kaada Naramani (ಕಾಡ ನರಮನಿ) in Tulu and {{Transliteration|mr|wanur-manushiya}} in Marathi. In Sri Lanka they are known as {{Transliteration|si|unahapuluwa}} ({{lang|si|උනහපුළුවා}}) in Sinhala, in Tamil, spoken across southern India and Sri Lanka and in Malayalam, spoken mainly in the Indian state of Kerala, they are known as {{Transliteration|ta|kutti thevangu}} (in Tamil {{Lang|ta|தேவாங்கு}}, {{Lang|ta|வா(வாக்கு) விலங்கு(ங்கு)}}) ({{Transliteration|ta|kattu-papa}}, {{Transliteration|ta|Kadapapa}}, or {{Transliteration|ta|theivangu}} (meaning 'the slender-bodied one') and in Malayalam {{Lang|ml|കുട്ടിതേവാങ്ക്}} or {{Lang|ml|കുട്ടിസ്രാങ്ക്}}.{{cite web | first=H. |last=Schulze |date=3 February 2004 |title=Table 3: vernacular names: English, French, German, others (countries of origin). |work=Conservation database for lorises and pottos |url=http://www.loris-conservation.org/database/ |accessdate=1 May 2020}}

{{Species table |no-note=y |genus=Loris |authority-name=É Geoffroy |authority-year=1796 |species-count=two|narrow-percent=75}}

{{Species table/row

|name=Gray slender loris |binomial=L. lydekkerianus

|image=File:Slender Loris.jpg |image-size=180px |image-alt=Gray loris

|authority-name=A. Cabrera |authority-year=1908

|subspecies={{Collapsible list |expand=yes |title=Four subspecies |bullets=on

| L. l. grandis (Highland slender loris)

| L. l. lydekkerianus (Mysore slender loris)

| L. l. malabaricus (Malabar slender loris)

| L. l. nordicus (Northern Ceylonese slender loris)

}}

|range=Southern India and Sri Lanka |range-image=File:Gray Slender Loris area.png |range-image-size=161px

|size={{convert|18|–|22|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} long, with no tail

|habitat=Forest

|hunting=Insects

|iucn-status=NT |population=Unknown

|direction={{decrease|Population declining}}

}}

{{Species table/row

|name=Red slender loris |binomial=L. tardigradus

|image=File:Loris tardigradus tardigradus 001.jpg |image-size=148px |image-alt=Brown loris

|authority-name=Linnaeus |authority-year=1758 |authority-not-original=yes

|range=Sri Lanka |range-image=File:Red Slender Loris area.png |range-image-size=180px

|size={{convert|18|–|26|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} long, with no tail

|habitat=Forest

|hunting=Insects, as well as tree frogs, geckos, small birds, eggs, and fruit

|iucn-status=EN |population=2000–2300

|direction={{decrease|Population declining}}

}}

{{Species table/end}}

The red slender loris is found in Sri Lanka while the gray slender loris is found in Sri Lanka and India. Two of the subspecies of red slender loris differ in their habitat preference; the lowland loris, L. t. tardigradus, favors wet lowland forests (up to {{cvt|470|m}} above sea level) in the south western wet-zone of Sri Lanka while the mountain loris, L. t. nycticeboides, prefers cloud, montane, and highland evergreen forests at elevations of {{cvt|1800|–|2300|m}}. The gray slender loris can be found in tropical rainforests, primary and some secondary, coastal acacia scrub forests, semi-evergreen forests, swamps, and bamboo groves up to {{cvt|2000|m}} above sea level.{{cite book |first=Anna |last=Nekaris |chapter=Family Lorisidae: Angwantibos, pottos and lorises |editor1-last=Mittermeier |editor1-first=Russell A. |editor1-link=Russell A. Mittermeier |editor2-first=Anthony B. |editor2-last=Rylands |editor3-first=Don E. |editor3-last=Wilson |editor3-link=Don E. Wilson |title=Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 3. Primates |publisher=Lynx Edicions |location=Barcelona |year=2013 |pages=210–235 |isbn=978-84-96553-89-7}}

Female slender lorises generally have an exclusive home range while males may overlap with others. They often form small social groups to sleep, containing adults of both sexes as well as the young. The groups also undertake mutual grooming and play wrestling. The adults typically hunt separately during the night. Males will follow females while they are in oestrus and mating may occur after a bout of play fighting. Gray slender lorises will often bear twins but the survival rate is low. Newborn infants cling to the mother's front for a few weeks and after that will be kept on a tree while the mother goes off to feed. They make nests out of leaves or find hollows of trees or a similar secure place to live in.

The slender lorises are one of the most faunivorous primates; the red slender loris has only been observed eating animal prey while the gray slender loris is primarily carnivorous (mostly insects) but will also eat bird eggs, berries, leaves, buds and occasionally invertebrates as well as geckos and lizards. To maximize protein and nutrient uptake they consume every part of their prey, including the scales and bones. They are able to digest toxic prey such as ants and noxious beetles, urinating on their hands before entering ant colonies to mimic the chemical profile of their prey to avoid attack.

According to biologists, poaching activity has led to the steady decline of the species in Tamil Nadu. Native people have always believed that all parts of the slender loris have some medicinal or magical powers.{{cite journal |last=Raviprakash |first=Navaneeth |title=Medicine, black magic, and supernatural beings: Cultural rituals as a significant threat to slender lorises in India |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360703301_Medicine_black_magic_and_supernatural_beings_Cultural_rituals_as_a_significant_threat_to_slender_lorises_in_India#:~:text=Slender%20loris%20body%20parts%20are%20used%20to,practices%2C%20are%20a%20cause%20for%20grave%20concern |journal=ResearchGate |date=2022 |access-date=9 December 2024 }} This has contributed greatly to the decline of the slender loris. In addition, slender lorises are illegally smuggled to supply a growing exotic pet trade. Other threats include habitat loss, electrocution on live wires, and road accidents.{{cite news |title=Men arrested hiding loris in underwear at Delhi airport |date=10 September 2012 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19542386 |publisher=BBC News}} Along the western region of Tamil Nadu, there is a vigorous clampdown on illegal poaching of slender lorises.{{cite web |title=Saving the loris |url=http://www.internationalanimalrescue.org/projects/25/Saving+the+slow+loris.html|accessdate=21 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120412043934/http://www.internationalanimalrescue.org/projects/25/Saving%20the%20slow%20loris.html |archivedate=12 April 2012}} Furthermore, development of major cities in the regions the slender lorises inhabit, including Colombo, Kandy, Jaffna, Trincomalee, Bengaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai, and Nellore, has led to destruction of its habitat; however, as shown in Bengaluru, urban populations of the gray slender loris can survive in urban areas provided there is enough tree and forest cover.{{Cite news |last=Soumya |first=Elizabeth |date=2015-07-31 |title=The night-time hunt for the secretive urban slender loris of Bangalore |url=https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/jul/31/urban-slender-loris-bangalore-india-animal |access-date=2025-01-17 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

Destruction of tropical rain forest habitat is also contributing to declines in population.{{cite web | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/331.shtml | title = Slender loris | accessdate = 2012-11-29 | date = April 2012 | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://archive.today/20130420030656/http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/331.shtml | archivedate = 2013-04-20 }}

IUCN lists the red slender loris as near threatened and the gray slender loris as endangered, whereas they are listed under the Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of India, 1972, according them the highest level of legal protection. WWF-India is working to protect the habitats of the slender lorises through its wider conservation work in the Western Ghats - Nilgiris Landscape.{{cite web |title=Slender Loris |url=https://www.wwfindia.org/about_wwf/priority_species/lesser_known_species/slender_loris/ |access-date=2022-03-12 |website=www.wwfindia.org |language=en}}

Kadavur Slender Loris Sanctuary was declared as India's first slender loris sanctuary.{{cite web |url=https://touristinindia.com/slender-loris-sanctuary-kadavur/ |title=Kadavur Slender Loris Sanctuary – First of Its Kind in India |author=George |website=Tourist in India |date=13 October 2022|access-date=13 October 2022}}{{cite news |url=https://theprint.in/india/tamil-nadu-govt-notifies-indias-first-slender-loris-sanctuary/1165042/ |title=Tamil Nadu govt notifies India's first Slender Loris Sanctuary |work=The Print |date=12 October 2022 |access-date=13 October 2022 |author=ANI}} It is located in Karur and Dindigul districts of Tamilnadu. This wildlife sanctuary has an area of {{cvt|11,806|ha}}.

{{Reflist|refs=

{{cite iucn |last1=Dittus |first1=W. |last2=Singh |first2=M. |last3=Gamage |first3=S. N. |last4=Kumara |first4=H. N. |last5=Kumar |first5=A. |last6=Nekaris |first6=K. A. I. |title=Loris lydekkerianus |amends=2020 |volume=2022 |page=e.T44722A217741551 |date=2022 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T44722A217741551.en}}

{{cite web |first1=Abi |last1=Nishimura |title=Loris lydekkerianus |url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Loris_lydekkerianus/ |date=2012 |website=Animal Diversity Web |publisher=University of Michigan |access-date=June 25, 2023}}

Menon, ch. Grey Slender Loris

{{cite iucn |last1=Gamage |first1=S. N. |last2=Nekaris |first2=K. A. I. |last3=Rudran |first3=R. |title=Loris tardigradus |amends=2020 |volume=2022 |page=e.T12375A217756381 |date=2022 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T12375A217756381.en}}

{{cite web |first1=Rory |last1=McGuinness |title=Loris tardigradus |url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Loris_tardigradus/ |date=2011 |website=Animal Diversity Web |publisher=University of Michigan |access-date=June 25, 2023}}

}}

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• {{cite book |title=Indian Mammals: A Field Guide |edition=4th |last=Menon |first=Vivek |date=2023 |publisher=Hachette India |isbn=978-93-93701-90-9 |ref=CITEREF_MamIndia}}

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Category:Lorises

Category:Mammals of India

Category:Mammals of Sri Lanka

Category:Taxa named by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire