The Slow Loris

Pollinator common name and scientific name:

Nycticebus coucang ​also known as the slow loris is a member of the subfamily Lorinae. The
subfamily Lorinae belongs to the strepsirrhine primate order.

Pollinator range and habitat:

The slow loris is located in southeastern Asia, across India and the Philippines, and
extends through parts of Indonesia. They specifically are found in ​Sumatra, Batam and Galang in
the Riau Archipelago, and Pulau Tebingtinggi and Bunguran in the North Natuna Islands),
Malaysia (on the Peninsula and the island of Pulau Tioman), the southern peninsular area of
Thailand (from the Isthmus of Kra southward) and throughout Singapore and mainly live on the
e​dges of evergreen forests, tropical rainforests, ​mixed deciduous tropical forests, subtropical
broadleaf hill forests, swamp forests, savannahs, montane, submontane forests, etc. ​They are
usually found in secondary growth areas as well.
Life habits of pollinator:

The​ ​slow loris​ i​ s nocturnal and arboreal meaning it is active in the tree top canopy during
the night. As of right now the slow loris is considered vulnerable and is on the IUCN red list as a
managed species. The slow loris can live up to 20 years with a max weight of up to 2.5 lbs.
Males are fiercely territorial. There is no designated breeding season as they breed continuously
all year long. Sexual breeding usually occurs while the mating pair hang upside down from a
branch. The gestation period is surprisingly long for such a small mammal, coming to full term
in up to 200 days or about 6 ½ months. There are documented cases of slow lorises living alone,
but most reside in community groups. The groups have no social order. Other primate groups
have a patriarchal male or female, the slow loris group does not. They do not migrate but do
forage over a wide range within their habitat. They are omnivores and feed on insects, bird eggs,
lizards, flowers, vegetation, and fruits. Their preferred foods are insects and ​E. tristis, ​a type of
palm fruit, nectar, and sap. They have chemical releasing glands under their arms which when
mixed with saliva is toxic. The loris is one of only two known poisonous mammals, the other
being the platypus. They also use this toxin to protect their young through a process known as
Nesting. The loris parent will lick the poison glands then use its tongue to bath its offspring. The
parent then leaves the offspring behind in the nest while it sets out to forage.

Interactions, Mutualisms, and Networks:

Most species of primates are generalist pollinators which means they can pollinate many
plant species and adapt easily to change in plant populations. Not much information is found on
plants pollinated by the loris, but it does seem likely that the Bertram palm is one species that is .

The interactions between the slow loris and Bertram palm (​E.tristis​) exhibit a great
example of a pollinator syndrome. Since slow loris prefers high contents of alcohol in its nectar,
the Bertram palm creates an attractive frothing, fermented nectar on the spine-like flowers to
entice these pollinators. We could assume that through natural selection, these plants have
adapted to create more fermented nectar in order to get the loris and nectar-feeding primates to
visit the plant more often, creating more pollinations between fermented plant species.

The slow loris is important to the ecosystem because it helps pollinate nectar-producing
plants which maintains the biodiversity and balance of the forest and in return benefits from the
plants by getting nectar. Species that depend on nectar based plants for food and shelter could be
considered dependent upon the loris if it is one of the few that help pollinate the plant that is
depended upon. You could even say the loris is dependent on the nectar-producing plants
because they provide sweet treats.

Economic and Cultural Value to Stakeholders:

The slow loris is a pollinator that helps maintain a healthy forest ecosystem. They can
help many nectar-producing plants and continue the cycle of a diverse forest. (Eckhard 2011)
With more biodiversity of plants, it makes for a better tourism spot. That is one way the slow
loris provides to the people physically. The slow loris, in some cases, also provides free pest
control for farmers (Nekaris et al. 2017). Beyond pollination, the slow loris is a charismatic and
popular animal that can be used as a mascot to protect its home ecosystem as a whole. The slow
loris is also a culturally important species. With this in mind, there are many stakeholders
involved with keeping the populations from vanishing.

Stakeholders for the loris include local communities that appreciate the slow loris,
Non-profit organizations such as International Animal Rescue, Researchers, and agriculturalists.
Along with this, some hidden stakeholders include loggers, miners, poachers, and the pet trade
industry. There is no theme of hate for the species, rather a lack of understanding and lack of
protection. The conflict is mostly resource-based. With some investment in outreach and
education that is being done, the stakeholders can come together to better the species.

As explained earlier, the slow loris has a significant impact on local communities. The
slow loris is essential to the religions of local cultures. In central Borneo, people believe slow
loris are the gatekeepers of heaven. In other cultures, they are believed to possess the ability to
ward off evil spirits (Nekaris et al. 2010). These beliefs have conflicting implications for
conservation as slow loris are both revered for their powers and hunted to produce products that
have these supposed powers. With the decline in these species, this stakeholder is at risk of
losing a part of their culture.

Nonprofits are a large stakeholder for these species. Especially those who focus on the
Slow loris such as International Animal Rescue. This organization helps return loris that have
been up for sale in the market. They also try to help when teeth have been cut off. Working with
researchers, they can do a collaboration where they can radio collar and get further information
on the species. Another impact the NGO makes is outreach and education on the loris and to
prevent further poaching on the animal (Slow Loris Rescue. 2018).
 Local farmers are another stakeholder. They benefit from the loris’ pollination activity as
this increases fruit yields, but also suffer losses from loris eating some of the fruit crops.
Because this crop-eating is far more visible than the loris’ beneficial pollination, the animals are
viewed negatively by local farmers and are killed (Nekaris & Streicher 2008). This is not the
case with all farmers and agriculturalists for some species of gourd; farmers recognize the loris
as pest control and understand its value in the area (Nekaris et al. 2017).

For the logging and mining industry, lowland forests, specifically in Indonesia, were
logged and set aside for mining (Estrada et al. 2018). From the way the management is done, it is
for the higher production rather than taking steps not to harm the slow loris. Logging is
damaging to the population of the slow loris since they rely on an arboreal setting. If brought to
an agreement with agencies, these stakeholders could proceed with their industries while taking
the appropriate precautions that would cause less damage to the slow loris. So far in Belitung,
there have been ongoing efforts in the tin mines to help reduce damage to the slow loris as well
as other nocturnal species (Estrada et al.2018)

Poachers and the pet trade industry are stakeholders for this species. To them, they are a
source of income and entertainment. At local meat markets found throughout Indonesia and in
Java and Bali. The slow loris is sold for medicinal purposes in local villages and pets (Estrada et
al. 2018). Suppose the issue of the possible extinction of this species is not brought to the
attention. Not only will the slow loris be gone, but these poachers will no longer have this
resource and would be to blame.

The slow loris has been studied significantly but not so much as a pollinator. It’s a
relatively well-known and charismatic mammal so its behavior and life history have been
studied, but research on the ecological impacts of its pollination is not as extensive. Despite this,
the slow loris’ ecological, economic, and cultural effects are far-reaching.

Current Research about your pollinator:

Diets high in fruits and low in gum exudates promote the occurrence and development of dental
disease in pygmy slow loris (​Nycticebus pygmaeus​)
In this study conducted by ​Cabana, F., & Nekaris, K. (2015)​ analyzing the slow loris diet
within zoos and institutions in ​Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand​ and the effects that their diet
had on their overall health, such as dental health. In this study researchers sent out ​fifty-five diet
and health questionnaires including questions pertaining to the environment where the Loris ate,
how much it ate, if the diet changed seasonally, or if the diet had just been switched to
institutions in order to analyse these effects. Afterwards, the nutritional components were
imported into computer software and used worldwide to analyze the exact nutritional value in
each genetic makeup of the diets. Figure one as shown below represents each food category that
was analyzed, and the linked graph below (Figure two) represents the health issues reported by
the institutions. As a result, it was found that 51.7 percent of these institutions discovered health
issues within the loris due to the combination of a diet consisting of high levels of fruits and no
gum. These high levels of fruits found in the diets correlated with higher likelihoods of dental
issues caused by bacterial plaque. Some of the factors tested in the analysis included, gum,
nectar, protein, acid detergent fibre, calcium, ash, phosphorus, potassium, Ca:P, magnesium,
vitamin D, and energy. This study is an important one to recognize as it may help predict
underlying health issues that are affecting the species worldwide as well as establish methods in
place for a uniform system of dietary requirements and changes in the diets of the slow loris.

Figure one:

Food item category Number of collections #(%) Average proportion by fresh weight % (SD±)

Concentrate 26 (66.7) 17.6 (1.5)

Fruit 33 (84.6) 40.9 (24.1)

Vegetable 29 (74.4) 25.8 (22.7)

Animal product 18 (46.2) 6.5 (8.1)

Dairy product 7 (17.9) 0.1 (2.7)

Invertebrate 31 (79.5) 7.3 (6.6)

Gum exudate 14 (35.9) 2.9 (5.2)

Grain or grain-based product 3 (7.7) 0.6 (2.5)

Nectar 5 (12.8) 0.2 (0.6)

Other 6 (15.4) 0.3 (0.9)

Figure two:

Reproductive Patterns in Pygmy Lorises

Helena Fitch-Snyder and Mike Jurke through funding by the Zoological Society of San
Diego did research at the Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species and published their
findings in the study titled “Reproductive Patterns in Pygmy Lorises: Behavioral and
Physiological Correlations of Gonadal Activity”. The study sets out to identify social behavioral
traits, morphological cues, and hormone level relationships during estrus, pre, and post-coitus.
The two research scientists set up enclosures for 17 lorieses. Five were wild caught and 12 were
captive bred. The study spanned the course of 5 years where hormone levels, birth rates, estrus
cycles, genital changes, and behavioral cues were recorded. The purpose of identifying the
parameters of loris copulation was to aid in breeding efforts to ensure survivability of
endangered loris species. While the pygmy loris is considered a subspecies of the slow loris,
Manley in his 1966 work on slow lorises concludes that sexual behavior and sexual morphology
are similar if not identical to one and other. It is believed, and in common literature, that lorises
breed through the year. The key findings of the study indicate that male/female hormonal
increases overlap with each other and support that loris breeding is affected by seasonality. This
also explains the variability in birth months with some months showing a higher frequency birth
rate. The study also found that males reach sexual maturity at 76-84 weeks as indicated by the
onset of elevated testosterone levels. This knowledge allows breeders to remove adolescent
males to prevent inbreeding in captive bred lorises which would degrade the gene pool.
 Coexistence between Javan Slow Lorises (Nycticebus javanicus) and Humans in a
Dynamic Agroforestry Landscape in West Java, Indonesia

This article looked into the relationship between agricultural areas and the Slow lorises.
The reason for this study was to see how wildlife adapts and survives during times of their
ranges being taken over by agriculture. In other studies, it seemed that humans and primates
could both benefit from agriculture. The team starts by explaining that after a gourd grown on
bamboo to become a cash crop, they wanted to see if the effect on the crops also affected the
loris. Changes of the loris included changing areas of use, such as sleeping sites. They went
about this by interviewing local farmers to see how they felt about their crops and the loris. The
researchers found that over the years, when interviewing farmers about the loris, farmers went
from not talking much about the lorises impact to talking about it early on in conversations. The
topic of how they are helpful in pest management increased as well. For slow loris behavior in
most farms, they saw traveling across the bamboo. Another behavior seen at the farms was
feeding on insects. For sleep sites, it was found that agriculture disturbed some of the lorises
sleeping sites. However, this was not too harmful to the bamboo being grown and provided other
sleeping spots. At the end of this study, it was shown that farmers were aware of the loris and
realized they could be an asset by eating pests. In the end, they state with more social outreach
on how these species help farmers, there could be more protection in place to prevent other
stakeholders from taking them away (Nekaris et al. 2017).

Scanning Electron Microscopy Study of the Dorsal Surface of the Tongue in the Slow Loris
(Nycticebus coucang) and Pygma Slow Loris (N. pygmaeus)

In this study, the dorsal surface of both the Slow Loris and Pygma Slow Loris tongue
were observed by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to determine differences between
the two. This species is the only known nocturnal species among primates found in China so far
(Nekaris and Nijman, 2007). The Lorises obtained for this experiment were those who died after
being rescued from wildlife traffickers due to lack of rescue experience. Tongue samples from
each Loris were set at 4 degrees celsius in a glutaraldehyde/phosphate buffer solution, then
cleaned in a fresh buffer and set out for one hour in an aqueous solution. The samples were then
dehydrated in an acetone concentration and moved to the critical point dryer where it was then
coated with gold to be examined with SEM. Three types of papillae were observed: filiform,
fungiform, and vallate, each one located on different parts of the tongue. The filiform papillae,
branched or conical in shape, are found at the tip of the tongue pointing toward the pharynx and
are different in size among the two species. The Slow Loris filiform papillae were ~100mm in
diameter (Fig. 2a) while the Pygma Slow Loris were ~105mm (Fig. 2b). Also it was found that
the slow Loris had conical shaped filiform compared to the Pygma Slow Loris flat conical
shaped filiform. Next, the fungiform papillae, larger than filiform were found to be dome shaped
and varied in size again among the two species as well. The Slow Loris fungiform papillae were
~126mm (Fig. 1a) while the Pygma Slow Loris (Fig. 1b) had ~153mm in diameter. Lastly, we
looked at the vallate papillae which is 316mm in the Slow Loris (Fig. 3a) and 264mm in Pygma
(Fig.3b). The conclusion of the study came out to be that both Loris species had similar tongues,
the only difference being the feature of filiform papillae. It was then hypothesized that the
morphological variations in tongues between the two may be the reason for being dependent on
evolutionary taxonomy of primate species (Xie et al, 2017).
 Social structure of the solitary slow loris Nycticebus coucang (Lorisidae)
Summary by: Isabella Taylor

A recent study done on social structures of the slow Loris, otherwise known as Nycticebus
coucang, revealed interesting findings on their habits and behaviors in a collective context. The
Loris is typically considered to be a solitary animal, so the study was done in order to better
understand the general proximity of Loris’ social behaviors and interactions on a consistent basis
in a specific environment. Researchers spent six hundred hours nocturnal radio-tracking, as well
as four hundred hours radio-locating the sleeping Loris during daylight, which allowed them to
observe the interactions and dynamics within what they call “spatial groups” of Loris. Even
though the Loris is typically a very solitary creature by nature, and not considered a “pack
animal” per se, researchers observed very particular social structures in each group of Loris they
analyzed. Of four spatial groups, each had one adult female, one adult male, and an enclave of
younger individuals. This leads researchers to believe that the Loris species exhibits
monogamous tendencies within relationships. However, the study, published in the Journal of
Zoology, reads “we did not find another often quoted correlate of monogamy – a weak sexual
size dimorphism”. Sexual dimorphism refers to the characteristics of a species which
differentiate the males and female individuals (typically in mammals), both through physical and
behavioral characteristics. For example, this manifests in characteristics like body size, as well as
vocal calls. In addition, behaviors like “allo-grooming” and what researchers called “alternating
click-clacks” (i.e. vocal communication), gives more solid indication of the nuances to Loris
social structures in spatial groups (Wiens & Zitzmann 2003).

Synthesis/Conclusion:

Studying research articles pertaining to the diets of the Slow Loris, its reproductive
habits, and the relationship between Loris and local farmers in agricultural areas has proved
promising, but more research is needed. It’s not entirely clear the long term impact that declining
loris populations will have on pollinator networks. Given their generalist nature it would be easy
to see how a variety of plant species could be impacted. Not only from flower to flower nectar
consumption but also through the quantity and type of insects they consume, which may also in
turn be pollinators. It is clear that they are weaved intrinsically into their habitats. This is made
obvious by their unique adaptations from poisonous glands, nocturnal activity, upside down
breeding habits, and somewhat specialist diet. The studies truly highlight a server need for
research. There are still large puzzle pieces missing that describe the nature of mutualistic
relationships, not only in pollination networks but also in loris to human relationships. The list of
stakeholders shows us that there is still a large concern aimed at practices designed to harm the
loris communities of eastern Asia and the south Pacific. Poaching, when combined with some
agricultural practices, and deforestation take a severe toll on loris populations. One study has
shown that there are cases of decreasing dental hygiene among some colonies of lorises. The
high fruit, nectar, and sap diets are the cause of poor dental hygiene, but it is not yet known as to
why or if this behaviour is normal. Further research needs to be done to determine if human
activity plays a role in that dietary behaviour. Luckily, there are well known conservation efforts
undertaking the responsibility of protecting these tiny primates. The IUCN placed them on the
red list, zoos are setting up breeding programs, and not for profits like the Little Fire Face are all
chipping in to preserve not only the lorises, but the known and unknown networks that they
support. Another study done by San Diego Zoo biologists documented mating behaviour over the
course of five years to better understand how to create sustainable breeding efforts for both wild
and captive bred lorises. The real difficulty in doing research lies in their elusive nocturnal nature
and accessing the sometimes remote locations they inhabit. Due to growing notoriety in the
illegal pet trade and media, the loris is now easily recognized and being brought to the forefront
of activism.

Sources:

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