Pygmy lemur loris. Little loris

Loris are primates belonging to the Loriidae family. These animals live in Southeast Asia. They live in secondary forests of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

These primates got their name due to their resemblance to clowns, because the word “loris” in French means “clown”, since they have large protruding eyes surrounded by dark circles.

Appearance of loris

Lorises are small in size, reaching 11-39 cm in length. The tail can be about a third of the length of the entire body, a little more than half, and sometimes it is not there at all.

The body shape is elongated. Legs of medium length or shortened. The limbs may be the same length, and sometimes the hind legs are better developed. The first toe of a loris can be much longer than the others. There are nails on the fingers. The feet and hands are wide.

The neck is small. The head is round and the front part is shortened. Their eyes are large. Ears can vary in size: in some individuals they are so small that they are hidden in the fur, while in others they can be long, webbed and extremely mobile. There are mustaches on the muzzle.

The coat is relatively short, soft and dense. Color ranges from brown and gray to golden. There are usually dark circles around the eyes. There may be light spots and dark stripes on the head.

In most loris species, the lower incisors move slightly upward. Slow lorises may not have the outermost incisors. upper jaw.

Females have 2-3 pairs of nipples. Loris exhibit sexual dimorphism: females and males may have different colors or females may be larger.

Loris lifestyle

Loris live in tropical forests: dry or wet. They can climb mountains up to 2000 meters, or they can live in savannas or plains. As a rule, loris lead an arboreal lifestyle, but galagos often descend to the ground. These primates are active at night, and galagos can be active during the day.

During the day, lorises rest on tree branches or in hollows. During sleep, they curl up into a ball and place their head between their hind legs. Lorises move through the trees slowly, moving their legs one at a time, and galagos jump. On the ground they jump on their hind legs. Loris have a strong grip; they can only hang on a branch for hind legs. These primates have very well developed ankle joints and wrists.

Lories live in pairs, in small groups or alone. They are capable of making a variety of sounds.

They feed mainly on insects, but can also eat bird eggs, leaves, fruits and other vegetation. While eating, they help themselves with their front paws.

Lorises do not have a clear breeding season. Pregnancy different types may last as little as 6 weeks, while for others it may last 6 months. 1-2 cubs are born. The bodies of newborn babies are covered with fur.

Their eyes are immediately open. The female feeds the offspring with milk for 3.5 months. The mother takes care of the children throughout the year. Puberty in loris occurs at 1.5 years.

Lemur loris– medium-sized with huge pitiful eyes, which became the reason for numerous expressions of sympathy. A furry little animal (or its look) remains forever in a person’s heart and memory. An extremely lazy creature is one of the mammals on the planet. Scientists are still amazed by the fact that lorises have managed to survive to this day in conditions of fierce animal competition (despite their laziness).

Origin of the species and description

Loris are representatives of the family (the most progressive class of placental mammals). The family includes more than 400 species of creatures. It belongs to the animal kingdom, the phylum of chordates, and the subphylum of vertebrates. The distribution area of ​​representatives of primates (except humans) is considered to be predominantly subtropical and tropical regions of Northern and, as well as and. According to historical data, the first primates appeared on earth about 65 million years ago. And the first lemur-like creatures are dated more than 30 million years ago.

Video: Lemur loris

Lory lemurs are close relatives (a family of small primates, numbering about 25 species), with which they form the infraorder Loriformes. The current number of lemur species has exceeded one hundred.

Lemurs are divided into the following types:

• slender loris;
• lemur loris (or slow loris);
• dwarf or small loris.

Animals are classified according to their size and weight.

Interesting fact: Until 1766, lorises belonged to the group of sloths (due to the peculiarities of their life activity). J. Buffon classified these animals as lemurs. Zoologists classify them not as lemurs, but as primates. However, the name “Lemur Lori” is firmly attached to the animal.

Appearance and features

The popularity of furry animals around the world is due to their amazing appearance. The main feature of the loris is its large, expressive eyes, evoking sympathy and pity. At the same time, the animals’ ears are very small and practically invisible. Lemurs of this class resemble something between sloths (they are often called “semi-monkeys”).

To key features appearance worth mentioning:

• wool - very soft and fluffy wool;
• color - usually reddish-brown or brown;
• fingers - the thumbs are opposed to the others, which belong to vestigial organs;
• limbs - the forelimbs are significantly longer than the hind limbs;
• the tail is an element of the segmented body of animals that is quite long;
• Dimensions - the minimum body length of an adult is 15 centimeters, the maximum is 40 centimeters, while the weight of the animals varies from 250 grams to 1.5 kilograms.

Coat color and thickness, as well as general characteristics appearance largely depends on living conditions, timely care and nutrition.

Interesting fact: The eyes of the loris are surrounded by a frame resembling glasses. Thanks to this feature, the animals are often associated with a clown. By the way, translated from Dutch “Loeris” means “clown”.

Where does the loris lemur live?

The homeland of the animals is (a country in the South) and (or Ceylon - an island state). Today you can meet representatives of this group of lemurs in:

• Central Africa is a part of Africa located on the equatorial and subequatorial strip. The territory is different big amount savannas and gallery forests (where loris lemurs live);
• South Asia is a part of Asia that includes Sri Lanka, the Indo-Ghana lowland and other smaller islands;
• Southeast Asia is a macro-region located between India and.

Favorite habitats of animals are: the island of Java, regions and, northeastern regions of India, northern China, Borneo and other tropical parts of the above regions.

Interesting fact: Early on, lorises could be found on, as well as in some arid regions of Africa. Due to the extreme decline in numbers, the animals no longer live in these regions.

All representatives of the lemur order live in. Only here the most comfortable conditions for their life have been created - a large number of trees (for living), fertile plant crops (for food).

Now you know where does the lemur live?. Let's see what he eats.

What does the loris lemur eat?

Lory lemurs eat both plant and animal foods. However, most animals prefer plant fruits. This is due to their laziness and lack of sufficient hunting opportunities. Small individuals are content with flower pollen; adult representatives can dine on tree bark or its resinous secretions.

Basically, all lorises feed on bamboo shoots, coconut milk, dates, bananas, leaves of various trees and other fruits. At the same time, some individuals (more active) supplement their main diet with insects, small lizards, chameleons and frogs. Observations of these cute animals showed that they can quite easily dine on small birds or their eggs.

Interesting fact: Many people believe that lorises feed exclusively on bananas. This is wrong. These fruits are classified as sweets and are consumed by animals much less often than others. For lemurs, bananas are more of a treat than a daily meal.

A vegetable diet rarely provides significant energy replenishment. In this regard, the animals lead a passive lifestyle. IN unnatural environment Loris habitats are fed with boiled and chopped bird meat, vegetables (heat treatment is optional), mushrooms, seafood and insects. Sweet fruits are a delicacy for the animals living in the zoo (this is due to concern for the health of lemurs and maintaining their natural sugar level). In foreign menageries, lorises feed on specialized mixtures containing all the microelements necessary for normal life and stable well-being.

Features of character and lifestyle

Loris have absorbed the life characteristics of sloths and monkeys. These little animals are extremely lazy. They behave very calmly, thinking about every step (which is what causes excessive slowness). Animals can remain motionless for a very long period (most often this happens for the purpose of protection from a predator).

And fluffy lemurs are active only at night. During the day, the animals sleep and replenish their energy. At dusk, lorises go hunting for fruits and small insects. At the same time, they do not jump between trees, but carefully move from branch to branch (with the help of tenacious fingers and tail). Impeccable orientation in the dark is possible thanks to the animals’ acute hearing and special vision.

Lemurs live both alone and in groups. They approach the choice of partners extremely carefully. Not every candidate becomes a full member of the couple. Families are formed from one male and several females. Its representatives live in close proximity to each other. It is important that Loris do not tolerate bright light. Therefore, if you somehow end up with this animal at home (despite the ban on keeping it at home), provide it with dim lighting.

When hunting and encountering other representatives animal fauna Lorises make quite loud sounds. They sound like chirping sounds as well as snoring sounds. When threatened seriously, they begin to bite their offender. In extremely dangerous situations, they hit the enemy with their elbows, which contain strong poison. Animals resort to this method extremely rarely.

Interesting fact: Under poor conditions (sharp climate change or lack of food), lorises hibernate.

Under normal conditions and with proper care, the animals are quite curious and playful. In zoos they do not hide or run wild. However, at home (if not kept correctly), animals become withdrawn and embittered.

Social structure and reproduction

By the age of one and a half years, male loris lemurs are ready to reproduce new offspring. Sexual maturity of females occurs a little later - at two years. In this case, pairs do not form immediately. The male and female are selective in choosing a partner, choosing “the one.” After direct fertilization, pregnancy occurs, which lasts a little more than 6 months. At one time, a female can give birth to no more than 2 cubs. Lemurs are born with their eyes open and covered with sparse fur. They immediately cling with strong fingers to the mother’s stomach, where they spend the first one and a half to two months of their lives.

Interesting fact: Baby lorises do not sit motionless on their mother. They often wander between their parents, as well as other family members, clinging to the thick fur of their “relatives.” At the same time, they periodically return to their mother for feeding.

The female feeds her cub with milk for 2 months. The father also takes care of the children. Both parents support the child until he is fully grown (which usually happens at one to one and a half years). The animals live up to 14 years in natural habitats. At the same time, with artificial life support, the age can be increased to 25 years.

Interesting fact: In 2013, a Russian citizen was detained for trying to resell a loris animal. He was sentenced to an administrative fine of 2.5 thousand rubles. The animal itself was confiscated. Detailed information can be found on the Internet. Case No. 5-308/14 is made available in the public domain.

Natural enemies of loris lemurs

The worst predators that are dangerous to loris lemurs include:

• - large from the hawk family. They pose a danger mainly to small individuals of loris. They are considered one of the main predators capable of killing loris when they live in a tree. Due to their slowness and caution, lemurs rarely catch the eye of flying enemies. But it’s hard for defenseless cubs to hide from the eyes of a hawk;
• – representatives. Such enemies hunt down prey, strangle it and consume it without dividing it into parts. Such a predator is dangerous for lemurs that descend to the ground in search of food;
• – great apes. Thanks to their ability to skillfully move along branches, these individuals amaze lemurs in their natural environment - in trees. In addition, they hunt on the ground, thereby surrounding the animals from all sides. Orangutans are considered the main enemies of the cute and fluffy lorises.

Mostly hunting for lemurs is carried out at night - when the animals begin to be active. Movements and transitions between trees give the lorises away, making them visible to predators.

One of the worst enemies for animals is man himself.

The following human activities kill the loris:

• deforestation - people deprive lemurs of their homes;
• environmental pollution - the consequence of global waste emissions is not only the deterioration of plant growth, but also the death of lemurs;
• catching animals - recently it has been very fashionable to acquire unusual pets;

In addition to the main enemies, any predators can pose a threat to the loris. This happens at those moments when the lemurs descend to the ground. Due to their slowness, they cannot quickly escape from an attacker, which is why they are considered quite easy prey for the inhabitants tropical forests.

Population and species status

Scientists do not undertake to indicate the exact number of loris lemurs living in forests today. This is caused by their wide distribution and constant change (both up and down). But due to the fashion for domesticating such pets, their numbers are significantly reduced. This is confirmed by reliable data from zoological services. People buy these animals on black markets for thousands of dollars.

The choice of such a pet is obvious, because the loris:

• very quiet animals that make sounds only when there is a real threat to their life;
• have hair that does not cause allergies;
• communicate well with other pets without posing a threat to them;
• do not have an unpleasant odor and rarely require bathing;
• They are distinguished by their nails not requiring regular trimming, and lazy animals do not use them to damage their owners’ furniture.

It is because of such advantages that the animals die. In captivity (at home) they barely live to be 5 years old. This happens due to the basic illiteracy of their owners and the lack of any desire to create the necessary conditions for lemurs.

Scientists started talking about the problem of the rapid disappearance of a large number of loris representatives 2-3 years ago. However, today the situation has become critical. Due to the decline in the number of lemurs, the sale of representatives of this species was completely prohibited. Unfortunately, state laws banning the catch and sale of lorises do not stop the indigenous residents of the countries where the animals live. For one representative you can get at least 1.5 thousand dollars on the black market. Therefore, the lemur fishery continues to this day.

Conservation of loris lemurs

Due to the rapid death of small and cute animals, lorises were brought into the world, and all their species, according to the World Health Fund wildlife, are on the verge of extinction and are subject to increased protection from humans. Loris are also subject to special protection in the territory. To increase the population of lemurs of this species, several laws were put forward to limit the sale, maintenance and storage of animals.

Zoological wildlife conservation organizations are actively calling for the conservation of the loris lemur population in its natural environment. Violators of the laws will face a fine and/or correctional labor. Legal keeping of animals is possible only in state zoos. No private nursery has the right to keep or breed lorises, even if the ultimate goal is not to sell the animal. Any document that a black seller offers for the lemur loris is nothing more than a “filka certificate.” No official “passports” are issued for this category of animals!

Lemur loris- cute and funny animals that can be playful only in one case - with the right attitude towards them. The number of animals is gradually decreasing. Their population is taken under state protection. Today, every seller and buyer of a lemur should think about whether its activity is worth the extermination of an entire species.

Few people asked themselves whether there are poisonous mammals- and this, despite the fact that there are quite a lot of such creatures among insects, reptiles and fish. There are such amazing warm-blooded animals, and a prime example of this is the primate small size, which is popularly called the slow loris, and officially - Nycticebus.

They say that the poison of these prosimians is quite capable of killing not only small animals, but also humans. It is better for everyone to stay away from their sharp teeth - even if the poison does not kill, deep wounds are unlikely to heal soon.

Slow lorises live in dense tropical forests and bamboo groves in southeastern Asia and the islands of Indonesia. It belongs to the family of primates, and zoologists distinguish the following types: Bengal (the largest fat loris), slow, Javan, Kalimantan and dwarf. There is an assumption that once there was another variety, but many doubt this hypothesis, since it was put forward only on the basis of a single tooth found.

This semi-monkey itself looks very original:

• Its body length varies from 18 to 38 cm;
• Weight - no more than one and a half kilograms (for the largest species, the Bengal, it can range from one to one and a half kilograms, while for the smallest it does not reach three hundred grams);
• This animal has a small round head, inconspicuous ears and huge, saucer-like eyes, the size of which nature emphasized with black or dark brown circles. On the bridge of the nose there is a light stripe reminiscent of a clown mask (it’s interesting that the loris got its name precisely because of its funny face, since this word means “clown” in Dutch).
• Its fur is thick and soft to the touch, brownish-yellow or grayish in color, on its belly it is of a lighter tone, and a dark stripe stretches from the neck along the spine;
• The tail is short - from 1.5 to 2.5 cm;

The limbs of small primates are especially interesting. All four of its paws are almost the same length, and its fingers have nails (except for the second toes - here are the claws that it uses to comb out the fur of itself or its relatives).

The little slow loris has a very strong grip on its arms and legs, which does not weaken throughout the whole day, so they like to spend a lot of time hanging upside down and clinging to branches only with the soles of their hind legs.

These animals are quite capable of catching an insect flying near them and, holding their toes tightly, without stopping, continue to move on. And this despite the fact that they do not have well-developed thumbs on their front paws, which is why they cannot grab branches with their entire limb.

Thick lorises move by clinging to or along branches with their front paws, using all four paws. These animals do not have the ability to jump from branch to branch.

Diet

These fat, at first glance, clumsy animals set out to get food right after sunset - and literally before our eyes they turn into dexterous hunters, moving very carefully and carefully. The leaves through which they make their way barely move.

They feed on tree resin, fruits, flower nectar, bird eggs, insects and spiders. In addition, they catch invertebrates, small birds and rodents. And they love to eat it all, often hanging upside down.

Be careful - poison!

The poison of this animal is not as terrible as it seems at first glance. For example, there is a known case when a young woman, being four months pregnant, was bitten by it in the zoo - and complained only of acute pain from her teeth.

In any case, the process of this animal secreting poison is in itself very interesting and educational. The gland with poison begins to actively function in the slow loris at a rather tender age - starting from six weeks. These animals coat themselves with poison even when there is no visible danger; they constantly lick the elbow gland and wipe their heads on it.

The release of a toxic substance increases sharply if the animal is disturbed. He immediately takes a protective pose, tilts his head down, and raises his front paws towards his head, while an absolutely transparent, smelly liquid (about ten microliters), which also contains an allergen, begins to be released from the gland. He begins to vigorously rub this liquid into the head and neck, discouraging the predator from wanting to feast on it.

The slow loris also has extremely sharp teeth, which, due to its habit of constantly licking the ulnar gland, contain traces of poison.

Its bite is somewhat reminiscent of an injection, only very painful and with worse consequences. The victim quickly falls into anaphylactic shock (the so-called extreme manifestation allergic reaction). After a bite, its victims, in particular people, almost always come to their senses and recover.

Such a unique feature of the animal could not help but attract the attention of scientists who began to closely study this phenomenon. And they came to the conclusion that secretion from the gland may be the body’s reaction to danger and fear.

Lifestyle

These small animals spend most of their time in trees - during the day they sleep in a hollow or in dense foliage. They prefer to relax not in one place, but wherever they like - one loris can have about fifty such points. They like to relax alone, without company.

But when they wake up, they often and willingly communicate with each other. This mainly happens either during feeding, or when their individual areas overlap with each other (if only because the males occupy a significant large territory, which is constantly superimposed on the areas of several females at once). When meeting, these prosimians touch each other, sniff and comb their fur. To better understand their relatives, they use various postures and sound signals - from low grunts to clear whistles ( last sound made by females during the mating season).

At nine months for females, at one and a half years for males, puberty begins and they have offspring. The male learns that the female is ready to mate by the enzymes that she secretes simultaneously with her urine. The duration of pregnancy has not yet been precisely determined by science. For some – three months, for others – six months.

Loris usually give birth to one cub, with a maximum of two. Childbirth occurs on the first branch suitable for this, since these animals do not create a special place for such an event.

Children

The baby is born fully formed and almost immediately clings to the mother’s fur. During the first two weeks of life, she practically does not get off it. The father takes absolutely no part in raising his offspring.

The only exceptions are when the mother needs to go hunting, then she carefully removes the baby from her body and leaves it in a secluded place. In this case, the baby sits extremely quietly, so as not to in any way give away his location. If he has any problems or simply decides that he has spent enough time alone, he begins to chirp loudly - and then his mother, dropping everything, runs to him.

After two weeks, the baby slowly moves away from his nurse and begins to learn to move independently and look for food. He lives with his parent for quite a long time - exactly how long depends largely on the character of the animal itself. Some leave their mother as early as nine months, others at one and a half years. When the animal begins to understand that it has become old enough to live independently, it goes in search of its own site.

Enemies

These animals have almost no natural enemies as such. Mainly pythons, changeable crested eagle and orangutans. Well, and, naturally, people - firstly, due to the wholesale cutting down of trees, the habitat of the slow lorises is gradually declining. And secondly, poachers are diligently catching them. Recently, it has become extremely fashionable to keep them as pets.

Alas, when there is demand, there is also supply, and, despite the fact that the authorities of almost all countries where slow lorises live have long banned their export outside the state, smugglers have long learned to break the law.

Nocturnal animals, lorises, members of the Loriaceae family, live in the tropical forests of Central Africa, South and Southeast Asia. Their distinguishing feature- huge eyes directed forward. Their tails are short or absent altogether. Typically, lorises reach a length of 17 to 40 cm, and the weight varies depending on the species between 0.3 and 2 kg. Lorises are active primarily at night. They are characterized by slow and careful movements, and never jump. With their strong paws, Loriids cling to branches and even by force it is very difficult to detach them from them. Most Loriids live alone or in small genus groups. Lorises can live up to 20 years.

Lories feed mainly on insects, bird eggs and small vertebrates. In addition, they can eat fruit or tree sap. The main threat to the existence of Loriids is the gradual destruction of their habitat, that is, tropical forests. The Loriaceae family is divided into four genera, which contain from eight to ten species, depending on your point of view. Some of the genera are: slender, fat, small, common, slow loris and potto.

Slender lorises are small graceful animals with a body weight of 85-348 grams and a head and body length of about 26 cm; there is no tail. The limbs are thin, slender, the forelimbs are only slightly shorter than the hind limbs. The eyes are round and very large, close together and directed forward, separated only by a narrow white stripe, and dark circles around the eyes, which further increases their size.

Slender lorises are native to the tropical rain forests of South India and Ceylon, but are also found in dry forest areas. The locals call them tevangu. During the day they sleep in tree hollows or in dense foliage, most often near forked branches. In this case, the body is curled up into a ball, the head and forelimbs are between the thighs, and the feet cling tightly to the branch, sometimes the arms wrap around the branch. In captivity, they can be seen sleeping in limbo, clinging to the crossbar of their cage.

As the sun sets, the slender lorises awaken, unfurl, stretch, clean and fluff their fur with a tooth comb and a toilet claw, then slowly set out in search of food. In the twilight, their eyes shine brightly like coals. Their slow movement is due to the grasping ability of the limbs, with the feet playing the main role. The hand is also a good grasping organ; in grasping branches of small diameter and in grasping food, the main force belongs to the large and longest fourth fingers.

About six sounds they make are described, including low grunts and chirps. Of their special habits, it is interesting to note that, like many other lemurs, moving slowly along the branches, they spray their entire surface with urine, wetting their limbs with it. This habit is explained as olfactory territory marking.

The fat loris is quite similar to the slender loris, although they differ in their larger size and dense build. Their food consists of insects, leaves, fruits, seeds, birds and their eggs, and lizards. In captivity they eat a lot of fruit and some meat. Thick lorises live alone or in pairs and small families. Several types of their voice are known - low grunt, high-pitched chirping, high clear whistle, especially in females during breeding. In captivity they are silent and sad.

The little loris differs little from the great slow loris. Mainly by size: its weight ranges from 400 to 800 g, while great loris weighs around 1 kg. However, a lot can be said about him too interesting facts. On the Internet, on one of the forums dedicated to animals, we found the diary of one married couple from the Moscow region, who acquired a pair of small slow lorises. This essay is huge - more than a hundred pages! Being loving owners, the husband and wife learned all the intricacies of keeping, communicating and feeding slow lorises in their own practice, constantly improved the living and feeding conditions of their charges, and helped shed light on hitherto unknown facts about the life of these wonderful pets.

First, a male was taken into the house. Almost from the very first days he showed himself to be a nimble, intelligent, affectionate and sociable animal; He very quickly fell in love with human hands and loved to sit on his palms cupped, eating his favorite delicacy - grapes. Constantly observing his grace, habits and funny poses, these people found out why the loris is called “fat.” Firstly, of course, for their touching toy “plushness”. Secondly, the loris has a dense, spherical tummy, like that of an avid beer drinker - it is very pronounced and is especially visible at the moment when the loris sits almost like a person, leaning on its hind limbs.

After 10 days, a female was taken - a mate for the growing male. The boy could not accept the girl for a long time, but not at all because of his youth, inexperience or a sense of territoriality. He was really “jealous” of his newly made companion towards the owners! As soon as one of the spouses picked up the female and caressed her, the male immediately began to worry, scream and snap, but several days passed and peace reigned in the loris family.

To observe the mysterious life of their pets, the couple purchased a night vision camera, which was installed in the terrarium. The image was broadcast on a TV screen located in the bedroom, so people could see everything that was happening with their pets during their nightly activity, without disturbing the peace of the animals. In the dark, left alone, the loris shook off their phlegmatic drowsiness - they actively moved, communicated, and made various sounds.

It turned out that another name - slow (slow great and slow little loris) is completely unsuitable for these animals! They are playful, agile, graceful and can have a lot of fun romping and misbehaving. The female called the male, he answered her, they sniffed, played, and then, having run around and eaten their belly, they sweetly fell asleep in the house in an embrace. The camera also captured how funny the lorises eat: sitting, taking a piece of food with their “hands,” almost like small human cubs.

The loris lemur has a very unusual muzzle, thanks to its expressive, disproportionately large eyes.

The loris also has a dark frame around its eyes, reminiscent of glasses, separated by a light stripe. Thanks to this, they received the nickname “loeris”, which means “clown” in Dutch.

All representatives of Loriids have soft fur, which most often has a gray or brown color with a darker shade on the back. Loris have small ears, pressed to the head, which in some species may not be visible at all behind the fur.

The furry paws of these cuties cannot leave anyone indifferent. By structure thumbs the limbs are opposed to the rest, and the index fingers can be classified as vestigial organs.

Depending on the species, Loriids have a very short tail or no tail at all. The body length of an adult loris varies from 15 to 38 cm.

The most common types in nature are:

Little or dwarf loris (Nycticebus pygmaeus), with a body length of 18-21 cm;

Slow loris (Nycticebus coucang), body length 26-38 cm;

Slender loris (Loris), body length 15-25 cm

Slow loris (Nycticebus), body length 18-38 cm.

Adult representatives, depending on the species, weigh from 300 grams to 2 kilograms.

Habitat

IN natural conditions Loris live in tropical forests in Central Africa, and are also widespread in areas of South and Southeast Asian countries.

The little loris lives in the forest areas of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Slow lorises live on the Malay Peninsula, the islands of Sumatra, Java and Borneo.

Slow lorises are native to the rainforests of Bangladesh, northeastern India, Indochina and western Indonesia, and can sometimes be found on the northern edge of China and the eastern Philippines.

Lifestyle

Loris activity occurs mainly at night. They rarely form groups and often travel alone.

Lorises are predominantly arboreal, living in the high canopies of tropical trees. They rarely come down to earth. To avoid becoming prey to various predators, lorises slowly move from branch to branch using all four limbs.

Lorises have a very tenacious grip, which allows them to stay on branches for a long time without losing their balance or accidentally falling to the ground from fatigue. This feature is due to the special structure of their blood vessels in the limbs. The high intensity of blood circulation and metabolic processes prolongs the time of movement of the loris to maximum values.

In natural conditions, it is typical for the loris to periodically hibernate or hibernate, which allows it to very easily survive bad weather conditions or a prolonged lack of food.

Nutrition

In its native habitat, the loris' diet includes both animal food and vegetation. Lories eat various lizards, grasshoppers, small birds and their eggs - everything that they can find on the crown of trees and at the same time remaining unnoticed.

Moreover, lorises can even use poisonous insects as food, and also consume the resinous secretions of tropical trees.

Plant foods are also of great importance in the lemur’s diet. Lori will enjoy eating vegetables, fruits, herbs, seeds and flowers of various tropical plants.

Enemies

Loris move through trees slowly and smoothly. This feature often helps them hide from their natural enemies, which include nocturnal predator birds and snakes.

But on earth, almost every major predator poses a danger to the loris. Main natural enemies slow lorises are orangutans.

Recently, lorises, along with many other representatives of the exotic animal world, have suffered greatly from active fishing, tree cutting, and pollution. environment and a strong increase in human activity even in remote corners of the globe.

In addition, the high demand of exotic connoisseurs has greatly increased the flow of illegal trade in many tropical birds and animals, including lorises.

Features of reproduction

Sexual maturity of male lorises occurs at the age of 17-20 months, and females become sexually mature somewhat later, at approximately 18-24 months.

Loris are very selective when choosing a partner to start a family, so they spend a long time alone until they finally meet “that one,” “the one for life.”

The gestation period in lorises lasts just over six months, after which one or a pair of cubs are born. Born baby loris are already covered with thick fluffy fur at birth, which serves as excellent protection for them from the adverse effects of the external environment.

The weight of the baby is usually no more than 100-120 grams, but may vary slightly depending on the species.

Interestingly, not only adults, but also baby lorises can communicate through a certain set of sound signals; when danger or discomfort arises, they can emit a very loud chirp, and upon hearing this sound, the mother will rush to her baby.

For 1.5-2 months, females carry babies on themselves. Small lorises tenaciously cling to their mother’s thick fur on their belly, and can also periodically move towards their father, returning to their mother only for feeding.

The duration of lactation of a loris usually does not exceed 5 months. Young lorises become independent by the age of 1.5 years. By this time, they will be fully strengthened and will receive all the vital skills from their parents.

The appearance of this cutie can play a cruel joke, his character is unpredictable. It is not recommended to keep loris lemurs as a pet if there are small children in the family.

Loris can be dangerous both to loris owners who keep them as pets and to members of their own species. Lori can be aggressive towards its owner. The teeth of the loris are very sharp, the bites are painful, and the wounds take a long time to heal, forming abscesses. The loris bite itself can cause anaphylactic shock.

If you are still ready to listen to all the demands of this baby and cannot help but smile at the sight of his cute face, then be sure to read the rules for keeping and caring for these animals.

Despite the fact that in nature loris often live alone, in captivity they very willingly live in pairs or small groups, so they will need to equip a fairly large enclosure.

If a terrarium is chosen as a home, then one adult individual should have approximately 1 m3 of usable area.

Another feature of lorises is that male lorises always mark their territory, so they spray urine on various surrounding objects, and also constantly update their “control points” to maintain the scent. Removing such marks causes stress for the male and can even cause his death.

It’s worth talking about the diet for loris separately:

To date, no diet has been produced for lorises that would fully cover their needs, so the basic diet of the lemur should include the following on a daily basis: cucumbers, carrots, melon or papaya, apples or pears, kiwi, not overripe bananas, cherries, raspberries, quail eggs.

It is also important to supplement the food for the loris with various insects, such as caterpillars, dragonflies, cockroaches or crickets, and shrimp scalded in boiling water. Sometimes you can pamper the loris with baby cottage cheese, fruit and vegetable baby purees, crackers, nuts, milk and sugar-free cookies.

Remember, due to various stresses and disorders in the diet, the loris can develop diabetes, and without professional and prompt treatment, the lemur can die very quickly.

Of course, not every lover of exotic animals has the opportunity to create the right conditions for keeping loris. Many loris owners are also often disappointed that loris lemurs are active at night, and during the day they constantly sleep, curled up in a ball.

And yet, for loris owners there are many advantages in keeping their pet.