page_title: Pygmy slow loris
section_title: Diet
hierarchical_section_title: Pygmy slow loris / Behavior / Diet
caption_attribution_description: English: A Pygmy Slow Loris (Nycticebus pygmaeus) suspended from a tree branch at the Duke Lemur Center in Durham, North Carolina.
context_page_description: The pygmy slow loris is a species of slow loris found east of the Mekong River in Vietnam, Laos, eastern Cambodia, and China. It occurs in a variety of forest habitats, including tropical dry forests, semi-evergreen, and evergreen forests. The animal is nocturnal and arboreal, crawling along branches using slow movements in search of prey. Unlike other primates, it does not leap. It lives together in small groups usually with one or two offspring. An adult can grow to around 19 to 23 cm long and has a very short tail. It weighs about 450 g. Its diet consists of fruits, insects, small fauna, tree sap, and floral nectar. The animal has a toxic bite, which it gets by licking a toxic secretion from glands on the inside of its elbows. The teeth in its lower jaw form a comb-like structure called a toothcomb that is used for scraping resin from tree bark.
  The pygmy slow loris mates once every 12–18 months and has one or two offspring after an average gestation period of six months. For the first few days, the young loris clings to the belly of its mother.
context_section_description: The pygmy slow loris is omnivorous, feeding on termites, ants, other insects, and fruit. Insects are captured with one or both hands while standing or hanging upside-down from a branch. Insect prey is typically consumed at heights less than 10 m (33 ft). A Vietnamese study concluded that the diet of the pygmy slow loris consists largely of tree exudates (gum) (63%) and animal prey (33%), with other food types making up the remainder. A study on recently reintroduced individuals found similar results—40% insects, 30% gum, and 30% other exudates. The pygmy slow loris will gouge trees to feed on the released exudates. Although tree gum is not as nutrient-rich as its preferred diet, it is available year-round. The pygmy slow loris is a specialized gummivore, a trait that helps it overcome difficulties in finding food during times of shortage. Unable to leap from tree to tree, the pygmy slow loris has a restricted range from which it may obtain food sources. Having generalist dietary preferences allows them to overcome difficult environmental conditions; gum allows them to live at a low energy level with a reduced metabolism. Trees from which exudates are eaten are from the following families: Sapindaceae (Sapindus), Euphorbiaceae (Vernicia), Fabaceae (Saraca), Anacardiaceae (Spondias), and Burseraceae. Feeding on gum takes place over a time period ranging from one to twenty minutes and involves intense licking, sometimes accompanied by audible scratching and bark-breaking sounds. Feeding on exudates usually occurs at heights over 8 m (26 ft). The seasonal color variation that occur in the dorsal stripe of Vietnamese individuals may be related to the need to engage in exudate feeding.
  The diet of the pygmy slow loris is seasonal. In north Vietnam, for example, the winter is characterized by low rainfalls and temperatures as low as 5 °C in the north of its range, when there is little growth of vegetation in forests, few insects, and limited food resources. The pygmy slow loris will also consume insects that have been exposed by its bamboo-gouging activities. It will use its toothcomb to clean an area of lichens and fungi prior to gouging. The animals conserve energy in the colder winter months by reducing movement, often to the point of complete inactivity.
caption: Insect prey can be captured while hanging upside-down from a branch.
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