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The Lore of the Loris: A moment with Professor Anna Nekaris OBE

The Cool Animal Blogger

We had the pleasure of interviewing Professor Anna Nekaris OBE, esteemed lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University, renowned expert in nocturnal primatology and founder of the Little Fireface Project. 


About our Ecology Expert of the Month

Professor Anna Nekaris - The Cool Animal Blog

Professor Nekaris has travelled far and wide to uncover the secrets of the slender, slow and pygmy loris, from Africa to Asia.




Kinship with Nocturnal Primates

Our Ecology Expert of the Month talks about a moment in her youth that inspired her strides in conservation, sharing, “When I was young, I saw Jane Goodall speak and I thought - I would love to do what Jane Goodall did for chimps, for other animals that people don’t necessarily know or care about, like lorises.” 


“Part of the reason for my love of nocturnal animals was that so little was known about them, and also because I don’t like going out in the day, I don’t like sun, I’m really a night person myself. There were dozens and dozens of nocturnal primates that weren’t even in my textbooks.


“I remember thinking, I want to study the ones that nobody knows about, which left me with bushbabies and lorises. 


“You see them and think they’re very cute, but in reality, they have the least amount of funding. Nocturnal primates are the most forgotten about.” 

 

They call me Slow, they call me Slender, they call me Pygmy…

Lorises Little Fireface Project

Our arboreal friends have many identities and go by many different names across their ranges. We have the slow, slender and pygmy lorises located in India, Sri Lanka and parts of South-East Asia. The Slow and Slender never occur together, but share a fossil ancestor dating back to around 28 million years ago in Egypt. In India, the Slender Loris occupies the South and the Slow Loris occupies the North.


The key difference between the two is the size, with Slender Loris being small and skinny, mainly insectivorous and oftentimes, more vocal. The Slender Loris also doesn’t hibernate (known as Torpora) whereas the Slow and Pygmy Loris like to catch up on their sleep during the cooler months. 


Outside of Asia, the Loris of Africa are known as Pottos, and the Slender Loris known as Angwatibo, where Professor Nekaris worked with them during her time in Senegal. 


30 million years of being Slow

The common characteristics of these species is that they are all unable to jump with slow locomotion. Don’t be fooled however, there is 20 million years of evolutionary divergence between these genera of Loris. 


 

Prof. Anna’s Top 5 Cool Creature Features

Little Fire Face image of loris

We asked the expert on what her favourite and coolest characteristics of the Loris were, having worked with these nocturnal nectar-nibblers for over thirty years. 

Cool Characteristic #1 - Warning: highly venomous

The Slow Loris is one of the few venomous mammals, a fact that surprises many people. In fact, the venom of the slow loris can cause severe reactions in humans, including anaphylactic shock. 


Prof. Anna says: “One function of the venom is to serve as a cytotoxin, meaning it can lead to the death of cells and cause necrosis of the skin. In the wild, during intraspecific competition (members of the same species compete for shared resources like food, space, or mates) this venom can be an incredible defensive adaptation.’


Did you know?

Only Slow and Pygmy Lorises are venomous whereas the Slender is not.

Cool Characteristic #2 - Local Legends

Cool Characteristic #3 - I’ve got my eyes on you!

Cool Characteristic #4 - Wholesome Loris families

To bust a common myth, Loris are thought to be solitary beings, however - the truth is quite the opposite. Contrary to popular belief, lorises are not solitary; they form loving family groups and pair bonds, showcasing complex social behaviours.


Prof. Anna says: “Lorises truly love their mate, raising their offspring together. It’s special, beautiful and sweet to see. Some people still don’t believe that - they are incredibly social.”


Did you know?

Lorises engage in affectionate grooming sessions and share sleeping sites.

Cool Characteristic #5 - Ultrasonic communication and the power of AI 

Whilst they may seem quiet when ambling through the dense rainforests, Loris are much noisier than what initially meets the human ear. 


Loris are ultrasonic communicators, which means they use high-frequency sound waves, typically above the range of human hearing (20 kHz), to convey information. 


Prof. Anna says: “We’re already trying to use artificial intelligence (AI) to understand what Loris are saying to each other. ‘Audio moths’ are added to trees around the forest, so that AI can sift through loris calls and differentiate the sound forms. It helps us to find the needle in the haystack or the quiet murmur in a forest of sound.”


Did you know?

Many animals, such as bats, dolphins, and some rodents, use ultrasonic sounds for navigation, mating calls, or social interactions.

 

There's plenty more where that came from - The Amazing adaptations of the Loris 


Professor Nekaris shares: “The loris is a fascinating primate equipped with remarkable adaptations. Its hands are designed to grasp tree branches, aiding its slow and deliberate movement. 

slow loris

Learn about the adaptations of the Loris

Striped camouflage helps these nimble nocturnal creatures to blend into the forest canopy, while sharp incisors, resembling chisels, and the longest tongue of any primate enable it to access tree gum. 


They are exudativorous, primarily feeding on tree saps, gums, and honeydew, which requires specialised adaptations, like modified saliva that allows them to lick tree gum, that would give humans third-degree burns.


With an exceptionally long digestive process, taking 28-30 hours to extract nutrients, lorises can even process toxic prey like slug caterpillars, whose venom is lethal enough to kill a roomful of people; astonishingly, remnants of three such caterpillars were found in one loris's droppings.”


Whilst these facts are pretty cool… Did you know? Tragically, species like the Slow, Slender, and Pygmy lorises are victims of illegal wildlife trade, threatening their survival.



How you can support...


Please take a moment to explore The Little Fireface Project, a campaign spearheaded by Professor Nekaris for the protection, conservation and education, for and about our friend, the Loris. 





The Cool Animal Blogger note: I’d like to say a personal thank you to Professor Nekaris and John at Anglia Ruskin University for taking the time to speak and arrange for our interview about conservation of the Loris. 


Until next time,

Nat!

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