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2d • 🦋Wildlife
Slow Lorises
These adorable primates from South and Southeast Asia are the only known venomous primates in the world.
In 2009, a video went viral showing someone tickling a slow loris named Sonya. As the person touched her belly, she raised her arms above her head. Millions of people thought she was enjoying herself and asking for more, but that seemingly adorable reaction was actually a defensive posture.
Slow lorises have brachial glands near their upper arms that produce an oily secretion. When threatened, they raise their arms so they can quickly lick those glands. The secretion combines with their saliva to create venom, which they can deliver through a bite. Because they move slowly, their venomous bite is one of the defenses they have when they cannot escape.
That viral video did not help slow lorises. Videos portraying wild animals as cute and cuddly pets can increase demand for them and encourage illegal wildlife trafficking, adding even more pressure to species already threatened by habitat loss.
Thankfully, there is now some beautiful news about the critically endangered Bangka slow loris.
Although this species had not appeared in scientific literature since the 1930s and was considered possibly extinct, the people of Bangka Island, Indonesia, knew these animals were still there. Residents continued finding slow lorises in gardens, backyards, along roads and on power lines and they called the Alobi Wildlife Rescue Center for help.
Between 2015 and 2025, Alobi rescued more than 90 Bangka slow lorises. After receiving care, 86 recovered and were successfully released at seven carefully chosen forest sites.
The rescue center’s records have now formally returned the Bangka slow loris to the scientific record and confirmed that the species still survives across much of the island. Scientists still need population surveys to learn how many remain, so these animals are not out of danger, but they are no longer lost to science.
I’m grateful to know that these amazing animals have been given another chance. I hope their rediscovery leads to greater protection for their remaining forests and gives the Bangka slow loris the opportunity to truly recover. ❤️
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Slow Lorises
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