The Sunda Slow Loris (scientific name: Nycticebus coucang) is a small primate found in Singapore and other parts of Southeast Asia.1 It is one of several species of lorises, all of which occur in Asia.2 Slow lorises are among the few mammals in the world known to have a venomous bite.3 They used to be common in Singapore and were often captured as pets.4 But their population has declined significantly, and they are classified as critically endangered in The Singapore Red Data Book (2008), which lists the threatened plants and animals in the country.5
Description
The Sunda Slow Loris is a small creature, ranging between 26 cm and 30 cm in length and weighing up to 900 g.6 Stocky with slender limbs, it has a very short tail and dense fur that ranges from greyish to reddish brown.7 A darker stripe runs down the back.8 Its hands and feet can grasp well, as the thumbs and great toes are opposable to the other digits.9 It has a round head, a very short muzzle and large forward-facing eyes.10 There is usually a dark ring around each eye.11 When it licks the insides of its elbows, where venom-secreting glands are located, the venom mixed with the saliva makes its bite venomous.12
This shy animal is usually solitary with a home range of nearly 20 ha, but sometimes it is seen in pairs or in family units with dependent young.13 It gives birth to a single offspring, sometimes twins, after a gestation period of more than six months, following which the young will remain with the mother for up to nine months.14 It has a life span of up to 14 years.15
An adept climber, it is arboreal and prefers tall trees. During the day, the nocturnal animal sleeps in the forks of trees or in thick vegetation, curled up in a tight ball with its head between its thighs.16 It makes a buzzing hiss sound when disturbed.17 It typically moves in a slow and deliberate manner.18 However, it can move quickly when necessary, such as when catching prey.19
Diet
The Sunda Slow Loris is omnivorous. Its diet includes insects, bird eggs, fruits, shoots, nectar and tree sap.20
Habitat and distribution
It is native to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, inhabiting forests, gardens and plantations.21 Within Singapore, it can be found in the Bukit Timah and Central Catchment Nature Reserves as well as on Pulau Tekong.22
Because of the paucity of sightings of slow lorises in Singapore and their being trafficked as pets, it is unclear whether the current slow lorises in Singapore are native or reintroduced from the pet trade. Some are abandoned pets. The slow loris species in Singapore is predominantly N. couang, though occasionally the Pygmy Slow Loris (N. pygmaeus) has been sighted.23
Threats and protection
As with other endangered wildlife in Singapore, habitat loss is a major threat to the continued survival of the Sunda Slow Loris, as urbanisation has taken away large areas of suitable forest habitat here.24 Another threat is illegal poaching for the exotic pet trade.25 Their big eyes and cuddly appearance make slow lorises particularly appealing as pets.26 After they are caught, their sharp teeth are often cut or pulled out to prevent them from biting their owners.27 However, this frequently results in painful infections that may lead to death.28 The Singapore Zoo has taken in many slow lorises that had been confiscated by the authorities from illegal pet traders and owners.29
Protection of the slow loris started in 1947 when the slow loris was among seven mammals whose hunting was suspended under the 1904 Wild Animals and Birds Protection Ordinance.30 In 1974 The Straits Times reported that the slow loris was a common pet in Singapore, although in the following year, licences were required to keep wild animals as pets under the Wild Animals and Birds Act.31 In 1978 a ban on trading their skins was introduced.32 International commercial trade on the slow loris ended in 2007, when the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora – of which Singapore has been a member since 1986 – classified the slow loris as a species in danger of extinction (Appendix I).33
Variant names
Scientific name: Nycticebus coucang
Common names:
- English - Sunda Slow Loris, Greater Slow Loris, Slow Loris34
- Malay – Kongkang, Kera Duku35
- Chinese – 懒猴36
Author
Valerie Chew
References
1. Charles M. Francis, Field Guide to the Mammals of South-east Asia, 2nd ed. (London: Bloomsbury, 2019), 289. (Call no. RSEA 599.0959 FRA)
2. Ronald M. Nowak, Walker’s Mammals of the World, vol. 1, 5th ed. (Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1991), 402–06. (Call no. R 599 NOW)
3. P. K. L. Ng and Y. C. Wee, eds., The Singapore Red Data Book: Threatened Plants and Animals of Singapore (Singapore: Nature Society (Singapore), 1994), 198. (Call no. RSING 574.529095957 SIN)
4. Peter K. L. Ng, ed., A Guide to the Threatened Animals of Singapore (Singapore: Singapore Science Centre, 1995, 142. (Call no. RSING 591.529095957 GUI)
5. Ng and Wee, Singapore Red Data Book, 198.
6. Francis, Field Guide to the Mammals of South-east Asia, 289.
7. Nick Baker and Kelvin Lim, Wild Animals of Singapore: A Photographic Guide to Mammals, Reptiles, Amphibians and Freshwater Fishes (Singapore: Draco Publishing and Distribution; Nature Society (Singapore), 2008, 134. (Call no. RSING 591.95957 WIL)
8. Baker and Lim, Wild Animals of Singapore, 134.
9. Francis, Field Guide to the Mammals of South-east Asia, 289.
10. Baker and Lim, Wild Animals of Singapore, 134.
11. Francis, Field Guide to the Mammals of South-east Asia, 289.
12. Chris Shepherd and Loretta Shepherd, A Naturalist’s Guide to the Primates of Southeast Asia: East Asia and the Indian Sub-Continent (Oxford: John Beaufoy Publishing, 2017), 27. (Call no. RSEA 599.8095 SHE)
13. Earl of Cranbrook, Mammals of South-East Asia, 2nd ed. (Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1991), 28 (Call no. RSING 599.0959 CRA); S. D. Fam, B. P. Y-H. Lee and M. Shekelle, “The Conservation Status of Slow Lorises Nycticebus Spp. in Singapore,” Endangered Species Research 25 (31 July 2014): 69, 72–73.
14. Boonsong Lekagul and Jeffrey A. McNeely, Mammals of Thailand (Bangkok: Association for the Conservation of Wildlife, 1977), 274. (Call no. RSEA 599.09593 BUN)
15. Lekagul and McNeely, Mammals of Thailand, 274.
16. Lekagul and McNeely, Mammals of Thailand, 270.
17. Lord Medway, The Wild Mammals of Malaya (Peninsular Malaysia) and Singapore, 2nd ed. (Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, 1978), 48. (Call no. RSING 599.09595 MED)
18. Francis, Field Guide to the Mammals of South-east Asia, 289.
19. Francis, Field Guide to the Mammals of South-east Asia, 289.
20. Shepherd and Shepherd, Naturalist’s Guide to the Primates of Southeast Asia, 30; Francis, Field Guide to the Mammals of South-east Asia, 289.
21. Shepherd and Shepherd, Naturalist’s Guide to the Primates of Southeast Asia, 30.
22. Fam, Lee and Shekelle, “Conservation Status of Slow Lorises Nycticebus Spp. in Singapore,” 72–73.
23. Fam, Lee and Shekelle, “Conservation Status of Slow Lorises Nycticebus Spp. in Singapore,” 72–73.
24. Nancy Byramji, “Last Stand by the Survivors,” Sunday Times, 29 October 1978, 16. (From NewspaperSG)
25. Ng, Guide to the Threatened Animals of Singapore, 142.
26. “Loving Them to Death,” Straits Times, 24 April 2007, 16. (From NewspaperSG)
27. Chong Chee Kin, “Wild Target,” Sunday Times, 23 September 2001, 21. (From NewspaperSG)
28. Bruce Gale, “Wildlife NGO Locks Horns with Criminals,” Straits Times, 24 July 2013, A28 (From NewspaperSG); Chong, “Wild Target.”
29. Victoria Vaughan, “Beastly Tales,” Sunday Times, 7 August 2010, D2–D3. (From NewspaperSG)
30. “Close Seasons for Animals,” Sunday Times, 31 August 1947, 7. (From NewspaperSG)
31. “The Day a Slow Loris Called…,” Straits Times, 26 January 1974, 7; “Law Steps In to Make the Whole Island a Sanctuary,” Sunday Times, 29 October 1978, 17. (From NewspaperSG); The Wild Animals (Licensing) Order 1975, Government Gazette. Subsidiary Legislation Supplement, no. 15, S 55/75, 21 March 1975, 120–23. (Call no. 348.5957 SGGSLS)
32. “Law Steps In to Make the Whole Island a Sanctuary.”
33. “Ivory Ban in the Bag, UN Wildlife Body Charts Its Future,” Agence France Presse, 16 June 2007 (From Factiva via NLB’s eResources website); “S’pore Signs Treaty on Wildlife Trade Control,” Sunday Times, 30 November 1986, 20. (From NewspaperSG)
34. Fam, Lee and Shekelle, “Conservation Status of Slow Lorises Nycticebus Spp. in Singapore,” 69; Francis, Field Guide to the Mammals of South-east Asia, 289.
35. Medway, Wild Mammals of Malaya (Peninsular Malaysia) and Singapore, 47.
36. John Harrison, An Introduction to Mammals of Singapore and Malaya (Singapore: Singapore Branch, Malayan Nature Society, 1966), 77. (Call no. RSING 599.095957 HAR)
The information in this article is valid as of October 2023 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.
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