Illegal wildlife trade is set to surpass even fast-paced habitat loss as the biggest threat to the world’s lorises — a tiny, unique primate found in Asia.
Some of you have probably seen the video clips of adorable slow lorises being “tickled”. They are very cute little creatures, but they are also frighteningly close to extinction. Found in the rapidly disappearing forests of Asia, experts now believe the illegal wildlife trade has replaced habitat loss as the biggest threat to lorises’ existence, according to The Jakarta Globe. Annually, thousands of these animals are stripped from the wild for black market pet trade, traditional medicine, and superstitious rituals. Much of this involves cruel and inhumane practices. A recent article from Mongabay explains that 6,000-7,000 are captured for the pet trade each year in Indonesia alone.
All seven species are threatened extinction
There are seven known species of loris on our planet, and several subspecies. All seven are recognized by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species – including two classified as ‘endangered’ and four listed as ‘vulnerable’. Deforestation is common and increasing throughout the range of all nine loris subspecies. Three varieties (including the endangered Javan Slow Loris) inhabit the forests of Indonesia, where Global Forest Watch reports 38,050m² of forest are being cleared every MINUTE. That’s over seven American football fields of critical habitat disappearing every single minute of every single day! The large majority of these forests are being removed to make way for palm oil plantations.
Poaching now a bigger threat than habitat loss
Despite the unprecedented rates at which the lorises’ habitat is being lost, their removal in the wild is becoming a bigger concern. The two factors really go hand in hand. The reduction and fragmentation of their habitat makes them more vulnerable to being caught by humans, even though eight of the subspecies are protected from trade under CITES and national legislation.
As a defense mechanism, the critters tend to freeze when they feel threatened, making them very easy for poachers snatch. Their big, reflective eyes also make them easily spotted at night. Poachers are known to take any loris they see, and will often kill adults to get to their infants, as babies are more appealing to exotic pet owners. A recent study published in the American Journal of Primatology explained that a growing number of these animals are also being traded by timber merchants, many of them being found when they cling to their trees as they are cut down.
These animals are very susceptible to stress, which means 30-90% of those that are captured do not even survive long enough to reach their new “owners” — according to the Mongabay report. They are often transported in sacks or wire cages, with several individuals in each one, often with their arms tied like prisoners. Many are injured in the process.
The horrors of the lucrative loris pet trade
Lorises are the only poisonous primate on earth. Glands inside their elbows secrete a powerful toxin, which the cuties suck into their mouths in order to deliver a venomous bite. In the wild, this is purely for defense. Loris bites have been known to cause severe infections in humans, as well as anaphylaxis and even death. To make them “safe” and “people-friendly”, traders will remove their teeth with pliers and wire cutters, without the use of anesthetics nor analgesics.
The tooth extraction is painful and often fractures the animals’ jaws, breaks other teeth, and leaves wounds in and around their mouths, says the Mongabay article. A bizarre technique that some falsely believe stops the bleeding caused by these procedures involves hanging the animal upside down by its legs and swinging it in circles, according to a 2007 study conducted by ProFauna. Teeth extractions frequently result in severe infections and some even die as a result of this practice.
The ProFauna survey also found that in some parts of Indonesia, a single poacher may catch six to seven lorises a day and can make US $11-$16 for each one they sell to dealers and middlemen. These merchants then sell the animals openly in bird markets, making $110-$210 per loris. The primates are commonly found being sold in wildlife markets throughout Asia. They are even sold in shopping malls, online, and in pet stores – almost always illegally.
In this YouTube video clip, you can see a loris for sale at a wildlife market in Bangkok:
WARNING: May be upsetting to sensitive viewers.
Hong Kong (which does not even have any loris populations, as they are not native to the area) and Laos are the main exporters in this pet trade — according to the aforementioned study in the American Journal of Primatology. The main importers were found to be Japan, the US, and the European Union, respectively. Japan is a very large source of the demand, where Mongabay says a single specimen can sell for between US $1,500-$4,500.
As scientists have only recently begun to learn about the natural feeding habits of these elusive primates, those kept as pets are typically fed an inappropriate diet. This is a major factor in why lorises do not survive for long within and beyond the pet trade. The removal of their teeth further complicates nutrition issues, as well.
Many are under the assumption that the majority of pet lorises are captive bred, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Loris researcher, Dr. Anna Nekaris, told Mongabay that even the best breeding facilities have difficulty breeding these animals, and even those who are successful have trouble keeping them alive. Simply, it is much easier to take them from the wild.
YouTube videos of these cute critters are believed to be stimulating black market trade. Unfortunately, comments on the videos broadcast a mass of misinformation regarding the legalities of owning these primates and their captive breeding, which only further fuels demand.
Also slaughtered for superstitions
Although to a lesser extent than that of the pet trade, there is also a substantial market for the body parts of lorises throughout Asia and the Indo-Pacific — according to the study published in the American Journal of Primatology. They are apparently used in a variety of traditional medicines and superstitious practices, going back hundreds of years in some places.
Alive, they are generally viewed as ugly and repulsive in Sri Lanka, so they are not favored as pets. There, forest guards reported to the study’s researchers that lorises are stoned to death in the wild because people mistakenly believe they are witches. This negative perception of these animals is common in several cultures, even to individuals who don’t act on it themselves.
The study also found that there is a great deal of cultural superstition surrounding the kind of luck (both good and bad) that can be inflicted on humans by these arboreal mammals, and they are regularly used as talismans to either deflect or attract these fortunes. In Sri Lanka, plucked hair and/or bones are worn to ward off the “evil eye”, a look from another person that can bring bad luck. Some Indonesians even believe that burying a dead loris under the foundation of a house will bring good luck.
Cambodian hunters will reportedly capture any loris they see and then beat it to death with a stick. This practice has disturbingly resulted in a belief that these tiny creatures hold “magical powers” because it takes so many blows to actually kill them, according to the study.
A 2009 article in The Guardian, their “tears” are used in Sri Lanka to make love potions, as aphrodisiacs, to cure eye disease, and are even consumed to see deities that bring good fortune. 
How does one obtain loris tears? According to the recent study in the American Journal of Primatology, some people reportedly hold the animal over a fire until its eyeballs burst, and then anxiously collect the fluid (“tears”) as it drains out.
The study also found that slow lorises are the most commonly observed and requested mammals at traditional medicine shops in Cambodia. Availability and use of body parts are common and widespread, and the demand is so high in this nation that traders admit to having difficulty in meeting it. One trader claimed to have sold around 1,200 Pygmy Lorises in just one year.
Prized in Khmer medicine, Cambodian practitioners claim loris parts cure 100 diseases. The animals are most commonly used to make a tonic that women drink to build strength after childbirth, in addition to its use for accelerating healing and treating sexually transmitted diseases and asthma. Other cultural myths include using the hair to heal wounds and broken bones, and eating loris flesh to cure leprosy and stomachaches.
Failure to enforce protective legislation
Many national laws are in place to protect these species, but they are largely ineffective. The 2007 ProFauna survey explained that Indonesian laws prohibit capture, killing, trade and possession of lorises and their parts, apparently 
punishable by up to five years imprisonment and/or a US$10,000 fine. These are some of the harshest punishments found throughout these animals’ range countries, but the laws are rarely enforced. Even some forest rangers admit to purchasing loris parts for use in traditional medicine, according to the study in the American Journal of Primatology. A police officer’s wife was even reportedly found to be a major dealer, but was dealt no consequences.
Traders and consumers basically have no fear of being arrested or prosecuted, which is why trade goes on in the open and with no shame. This black market is of great benefit to hunters because the lorises are easy to catch, there is little danger involved, no equipment is needed, transportation is simple, the animals are rarely confiscated, and, most of all, it is profitable.
Wild populations unable to recover under increasing pressure
The consequences for wild populations are immense. Like sharks, lorises are very slow to reproduce, making recovery from low numbers very challenging. Their biology and ecology is not favorable for multiplying quickly, and they usually give birth to only one offspring per pregnancy. Even if habitat loss was not a factor in their declines, the illegal wildlife trade would likely be enough to bring them to extinction.
The IUCN now says there are fewer than 2,500 Javan Slow Lorises left in the wild, and other subspecies have suffered declines of 30 – 50% in only the last 21-24 years. If we don’t act now, these fascinating creatures will be gone before we know it. Global pressure needs to be placed on governments to stop the trade. Education is desperately needed throughout the lorises’ range and amongst exotic pet owner communities.
From your own home computer, you can get involved. Share this story. Comment on loris videos and include the link to this article so that people can be educated on the truth. Be a voice for the loris and help us raise awareness. Together, we can save these endangered species!
You can also check out and support Dr. Anna Nekaris’ “Little Fireface Project” to help save the world’s lorises!
Images #1, #2, #5 by Dr. K.A.I. Nekaris via Wikimedia Commons, adapted by author
Image #3 by Dr. Karmele Llano Sánchez via Wikimedia Commons
Image #4 by David Haring via Wikimedia Commons
Image #6 & #7 by Carly Starr via Wikimedia Commons
Image #8 by Dan Bennett via Wikimedia Commons
Sources:
Hance, J. (2009), YouTube videos may be imperiling cuddly primate. Mongabay.
Nekaris, K.A.I., Shepherd, C.R., Starr, C.R. and Nijman, V. (2010), Exploring cultural drivers for wildlife trade via an ethnoprimatological approach: a case study of slender and slow lorises (Loris and Nycticebus) in South and Southeast Asia. Am. J. Primatol., 72: 877–886.
I am a biologist-turned-writer, with a BSc in wildlife science from Oregon State University. I have been writing about global wildlife conservation issues since 2009. You may know me from my previous role at Bush Warriors or from my ongoing work with Annamiticus, Saving Rhinos, and Project Pangolin. When I'm not blogging, I enjoy loud music, creating art, hula hooping, and being outdoors. Read more of my articles here.
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