page_title: Slow loris
section_title: Common misconceptions
hierarchical_section_title: Slow loris / Conservation / Common misconceptions
caption_attribution_description: English: Slow lorises like this Sunda Slow Loris juvenile (Nycticebus coucang) have their teeth forcibly removed by animal traffickers in the open-air "bird markets" of Indonesia. The slow loris is the world's only venomous primate. Its venom is stored in an elbow patch: the loris will suck in the venom from the patch, then mix it around in its mouth before delivering a toxic bite. So, when illegal traders catch them and sell them on, they usually remove the helpless creatures' teeth - with wire cutters/toenail clippers. This photo was taken by Dr. Karmele Llano Sánchez of the International Animal Rescue (IAR).
context_page_description: Slow lorises are a group of several species of nocturnal strepsirrhine primates that make up the genus Nycticebus. Found in Southeast Asia and bordering areas, they range from Bangladesh and Northeast India in the west to the Sulu Archipelago in the Philippines in the east, and from Yunnan province in China in the north to the island of Java in the south. Although many previous classifications recognized as few as a single all-inclusive species, there are now at least eight that are considered valid: the Sunda slow loris, Bengal slow loris, pygmy slow loris, Javan slow loris, Philippine slow loris, Bangka slow loris, Bornean slow loris, and Kayan River slow loris. The group's closest relatives are the slender lorises of southern India and Sri Lanka. Their next closest relatives are the African lorisids, the pottos, false pottos, and angwantibos. They are less closely related to the remaining lorisoids, and more distantly to the lemurs of Madagascar. Their evolutionary history is uncertain since their fossil record is patchy and molecular clock studies have given inconsistent results.
context_section_description: Because of their "cuteness", videos of pet slow lorises are some of the most frequently watched animal-related viral videos on YouTube.  In March 2011, a newly posted video of a slow loris holding a cocktail umbrella had been viewed more than two million times, while an older video of a slow loris being tickled had been viewed more than six million times.  According to Nekaris, these videos are misunderstood by most people who watch them, since most do not realize that it is illegal in most countries to own them as pets and that the slow lorises in the videos are only docile because that is their passive defensive reaction to threatening situations.
  Despite frequent advertisements by pet shops in Japan, the World Conservation Monitoring Centre reported that only a few dozen slow lorises were legally imported in 2006, suggesting frequent smuggling.  Slow lorises are also smuggled to China, Taiwan, Europe, Russia, the United States, and Saudi Arabia for use as pets.
  Within their countries of origin, slow lorises are very popular pets, particularly in Indonesia. They are seen as a "living toy" for children by local people or are bought out of pity by Western tourists or expatriates. Neither local nor foreign buyers usually know anything about these primates, their endangered status, or that the trade is illegal. According to National Geographic, slow lorises are protected by both local laws in southern Asia and by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Furthermore, few know about their strong odor or their painful bite, which may lead to anaphylaxis in some cases. According to data compiled from monthly surveys and interviews with local traders, nearly a thousand locally sourced slow lorises exchanged hands in the Medan bird market in North Sumatra during the late first decade of the 21st century.
  International trade usually causes a high mortality rate during transit, between 30% and 90%. Slow lorises also experience many health problems due to both local and international trade. In order to give the impression that the primates are tame and appropriate pets for children, to protect people from their potentially toxic bite, or to deceive buyers into thinking the animal is a baby, animal dealers either pull the front teeth with pliers or wire cutters or cut them off with nail cutters. This results in severe bleeding, which sometimes causes shock or death.
  Dental infection is common and is fatal in 90% of cases. Without their teeth, the animals can no longer fend for themselves in the wild, and must remain in captivity for life. The slow lorises found in animal markets are usually underweight and malnourished, and have had their fur dyed, which complicates species identification at rescue centers. As many as 95% of the slow lorises rescued from the markets die of dental infection or improper care.
  As part of the trade, infants are pulled prematurely from their parents, leaving them unable to remove their own urine, feces, and oily skin secretions from their fur. Slow lorises have a special network of blood vessels in their hands and feet, which makes them vulnerable to cuts when pulled from the wire cages they are kept in. Slow lorises are also stress-sensitive and do not do well in captivity. Common health problems seen in pet slow lorises include undernourishment, tooth decay, diabetes, obesity, and kidney failure. Infection, stress, pneumonia, and poor nutrition lead to high death rates among pet lorises. Pet owners also fail to provide proper care because they are usually asleep when the nocturnal pet is awake.
caption: Slow lorises have their front teeth cut or pulled before being sold as pets, a practice that often causes infection and death.
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