Gray slender loris

Loris lydekkerianus

TT youngest loris unnamed 1 crop
IUCN Conservation Status –
Least Concern
Extinct In The Wild
Class: Mammals
Order: Primates
Family: Lorisidae

Take a wander through our Wildlife at Night exhibit to spot this nocturnal species.

Gray slender loris inhabit forests, plantations and jungles in eastern and southern India and Sri Lanka. They seem to prefer degraded forests instead of primary forest, often living in areas near human habitations.

They are insectivores, eating mostly ants and termites, though they will also eat beetles, spiders and occasionally small vertebrates.

Interesting facts!

  • They are a tree-dwelling animal that travels along branches on all fours.
  • When they sleep they usually sleep in groups of 2 to 7, usually in the same places with the same members. They will form themselves into a ‘sleeping ball’ in which they tangle their limbs together.
  • They are the only loris species that have been seen moving quickly; they are observed running and making short jumps, though fast movements like this are rare.

Conservation

This species has a high priority for conservation breeding. Newquay Zoo is part of the European Endangered species Programme (EEP) which is managed by Poznan Zoo, Poland. In India and Sri Lanka, habitat loss has affected this species, and the plantations where the loris lives are an unstable habitat, subject to harvesting at any time.