A pioneering project uses water pipes suspended in the trees to allow the endangered primates to gather food in safety.
Largely solitary, nocturnal, venomous and pint-sized, slow lorises are strong contenders for the primates that least resemble humans. Which may be why they are among the least studied, least protected and most poorly understood primates, according to Anna Nekaris, professor of primate conservation and biological anthropology at Oxford Brookes University.
“Out of over 600 primate species, we have five great apes, and everybody wants to study them,” she says.
While the plight of orangutans and gorillas has been well publicised, all nine species of slow loris, spread across southern and south-east Asia, are quietly decreasing in number and slipping down the IUCN red list. Philippine, Kayan and Bornean slow lorises are classed as vulnerable; Pygmy, Bengal, Sumatran and Sunda slow lorises are endangered; while Bangkas and Javans are critically endangered.
Bridge over troubled forests: how Java's slow lorises are creeping back
Largely solitary, nocturnal, venomous and pint-sized, slow lorises are strong contenders for the primates that least resemble humans. Which may be why they are among the least studied, least protected and most poorly understood primates, according to Anna Nekaris, professor of primate conservation and biological anthropology at Oxford Brookes University.
“Out of over 600 primate species, we have five great apes, and everybody wants to study them,” she says.
While the plight of orangutans and gorillas has been well publicised, all nine species of slow loris, spread across southern and south-east Asia, are quietly decreasing in number and slipping down the IUCN red list. Philippine, Kayan and Bornean slow lorises are classed as vulnerable; Pygmy, Bengal, Sumatran and Sunda slow lorises are endangered; while Bangkas and Javans are critically endangered.
Bridge over troubled forests: how Java's slow lorises are creeping back
