Little fat lory. Photo of a lemur lory - description of a lemur lory. Diet, nutrition loris

Slow lorises (popularly - lemur loris) are a genus of funny big-eyed animals belonging to the order of wet-nosed primates, which are often mistakenly called lemurs. From a zoological point of view, this is not true, since they belong to the infaorder Loris, and not lemurs. In addition, lemurs, as you know, are a family of semi-monkeys that live exclusively on the territory of Madagascar, and thick lorises are distributed quite far from them - in South and South-East Asia. The main external feature that distinguishes loris from lemurs is the absence long tail. They have it very small, reaching 1.5-2 cm. In English-speaking countries, representatives of this genus are called "slow", which is not at all surprising, because they are famous for their indifference to sudden movements.

Slow lorises are one of the five genera of wild animals from the Lori family, consisting of eight species, three of which have been formed more recently. The main species include the following species: Bengal loris, slow loris, Javan loris, Kalimantan loris and pygmy or small fat lory. In 2013, the study of some individuals that previously belonged to the Kalimantan lorises made it possible to identify three more new species - N. borneanus, N. kayan and N. bancanus.

All representatives of the genus are included in the Red Book as vulnerable or endangered species. The export of slow lorises outside their native countries is prohibited by law, threatens with fines and even imprisonment.

The habitat of rare animals extends from Bangladesh and Northeast India to the Philippines and from the Chinese province of Yunnan to the island of Java. They prefer humid tropical forests.

The size of slow loris can vary depending on the species - body length ranges from 18 to 38 cm, and weight - from 300 grams to 1.5 kg. They are nocturnal animals, so nature gave them large eyes with a reflective layer called tapetum, which allows them to see in the dark. The head is rounded, with a short muzzle. The eyes of all representatives of the genus are bordered by dark "glasses" and separated by a light stripe. Perhaps, thanks to this appearance, reminiscent of a clown mask, scientists gave the animals the appropriate name - in translation from the Dutch "loeris" means "clown". The fur of slow lorises is soft and thick, its color varies from grayish to yellow, the hair on the abdomen is lighter. Another distinguishing feature is a dark stripe running from the neck along the entire spine. The ears are small and round. The hind and forelimbs are well developed, almost the same length. All fingers of slow loris have nails, with the exception of the second fingers of the hind limbs, which are equipped with "cosmetic" claws intended for grooming.

Exotic representatives of the world of fauna from Asia lead tree image life in natural environment habitation, practically without descending to the ground. They move with the help of four limbs, moving from branch to branch or moving along them along the length. Animals are endowed with an unusually strong grip on their arms and legs, which does not weaken throughout the day. This feature is explained special structure blood vessels of the extremities, providing intensive blood circulation and metabolism in the muscles during the movement of the animal.

Slow lorises lead night image life, spending most (over 90%) of the active period alone. Sometimes they can form pairs or small unstable groups. The day is spent curled up in a fork in the branches of a tree and holding tightly to them with their paws, or located in tree hollows and other suitable shelters that lie at a height. One slow loris can have over 60 favorite places to rest. With the onset of darkness, the animals come to life and go hunting. They slowly travel through vines and tree branches, clinging to them with their fingers. Males regularly mark their boundaries to mark their territory, not forgetting to update these scent marks. In search of food, they may accidentally meet representatives of their own species, with which their individual sites are adjacent. During such meetings, the animals touch each other, engage in mutual combing of wool, or communicate with each other through various postures. However, most often they receive information about a relative they meet with the help of hearing and smell.

Compared to other similarly sized mammals, slow lorises have an extremely slow metabolism, resulting in a very leisurely lifestyle. Their main feature - the smooth and somewhat slow nature of their movements - helps them sneak up on prey or hide from enemies unnoticed. True, when lorises are not scared, they are able to move quite quickly - for example, bypassing the territory and leaving marks.

Depending on the time of year, the diet of animals consists of various proportions of fruits, plants, tree resin, bird eggs, nectar, insects, terrestrial mollusks and small vertebrates. Animals catch insects with one or both hands, often grabbing branches for better balance with the fingers of their hind limbs. To the main natural enemies Slow lorises include orangutans, pythons and the mutable crested eagles.

Males reach puberty at the age of 17-20 months, females - 18-24 months. Pregnancy lasts 180-190 days, after which the female gives birth to one or two cubs. For the first 14 days, newborn lorises cling tightly to their mother's fur. Sometimes the female carefully removes the baby and puts it in a hollow tree or a secluded fork of branches, where he sits quietly and imperceptibly while the mother gets food. In case of discomfort, the cub emits a loud chirp, and the female hurries to him. It is believed that in wild nature the male does not take part in the upbringing of the offspring, however, in captivity, they can take the cubs and carry them on themselves until they get hungry and want to return to the nurse. After 5-7 months, the baby is weaned from the care of the mother, and at the age of 1-1.5 years it becomes old enough for independent living. In captivity, the life expectancy of representatives of the Loriev family is 20-25 years.

Slow lorises are not among the most talkative primates - they use sounds mainly to signal aggression, anxiety, and to communicate with the cub and mother.

Despite the fact that the international trade of slow lorises is prohibited and threatens to reduce their population, poachers continue to actively catch and export them for the purpose of selling them as pets. At the same time, the transportation of animals takes place, to put it mildly, not in the most favorable conditions, and many of them die on the road. Also, a serious danger is the massive deforestation of tropical forests, which are inhabited by these tree animals. The World Wildlife Fund is making every effort to increase the population of slow loris, promoting their reproduction in reserves and captivity.

Common name for the animal lemur lory became known for expensive acquisitions of exotic animals as pets the size of a pet.

This mammal belongs to the few surviving oldest animals on the planet. All representatives of the species are classified as protected objects and are included in.

Features and habitat

The animal is easy to remember when you see it once big eyes, surrounded by dark spots and separated by a yellowish stripe. Nature endowed him with good night vision thanks to the reflective substance tapetum, which allows him to navigate in the dark. The eyes may have given rise to the corresponding name "Loeris", translated from the Dutch language - "clown".

In 1766, the French naturalist Georges Buffon called the loris a semi-ape (lemur), while he was considered slow. Today there are three main types:

• thin lory;
• thick loris (lemur lory);
• pygmy (small) loris.

Each species is divided into several subspecies. Zoologists consider them to be varieties of wet-nosed primates, mistakenly classified as.

The forests of South and Southeast Asia in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, India are places where funny animals are distributed. Homeland is considered to be Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore.

The body of the animal, in accordance with the species, varies in size from 20 to 40 cm, and weight from 0.3 to 1.6 kg. Loris are covered with short dense and soft fur of brownish or yellow gray.

Pictured is a thin lory

The belly is always lighter in color. A dark stripe always runs along the spine like a belt. Small head with a short muzzle. The ears are small and rounded. The tail is either completely absent, or protrudes by 1.7-2 cm and is covered with hair, therefore it is hardly noticeable. lori fat distinguished by the presence of white patches on the head.

The fore and hind limbs are approximately equal in size, equipped with grasping and tenacious hands and feet. The fingers have nails, among which there are special "cosmetic" claws for grooming.

Unusual big-eyed animals live on the tops of trees, in dense crowns. Different types live in lowland forests or high in the mountains. They almost never descend to the ground, they lead an arboreal lifestyle.

Pictured is a fat lory

Loris are often called slow for indifference to sharp and fast movements. Sad eyes emphasize their individual expressiveness.

Character and lifestyle

Lemur lory - animal night. Activity comes in the evening, night is the time of hunting, and the animal falls asleep only after the sun rises. Bright light is contraindicated for them, from blinding rays they can go blind and die. Twilight is a comfortable living environment.

They sleep in fur balls on trees, holding onto a branch with their feet and hiding their heads in their legs. The animal can find a convenient place to rest in a hollow or a fork in the branches.

Loris move slowly, carefully, clasping branches from below with all paws. At the slightest danger, they freeze and can remain motionless for a long time, without moving a single leaf, until the threat from some predatory animal has passed. night bird. Animals have excellent hearing.

They are naturally curious and playful. They explore and know their territories well. The animals are very tenacious and strong for their small size, limbs are ideally suited for climbing branches.

It is known that lorises, in addition to hunting for insects and small vertebrates, remove the bark of individual trees and drink the juice that stands out. In nature, they never suffer from periodontal disease. There are individualistic lorises who have their own plots and lead a solitary lifestyle. And some species do not tolerate loneliness, live in pairs.

They usually live in captivity couples or groups (a male and several females or a parent pair and cubs). Loris protect their territory from random intrusions of relatives.

They always keep secretly, in the thick of green branches at a height, which complicates research behind them. Many conclusions are made on the basis of the study of animals in captivity, on the basis of research centers.

Loris voices are different: at a great distance you can hear a whistle, near you can hear the chirping with cubs. Animals have the ability to communicate in an ultrasonic range that is indistinguishable to humans. You can watch the animals silently pushing each other with their paws.

The exchange of information may be going on in parallel at another level. Sometimes a ball of fur is formed from several lorises intertwined with limbs and hanging on a tree.

This is how they communicate, play, have their own section of tidbits, and define an internal hierarchy. A seemingly harmless animal has a secret and terrible weapon. The elbows of the animal melt glands with poison, the contents of which are sucked out and mixed with saliva. The bite can be fatal. But, fortunately, such a danger overtakes the loris infrequently, secret weapon applied in exceptional cases.

Feeding the lemur lory

In nature, the diet of loris is filled with various crickets, lizards, and their eggs. A feature of loris is the ability to eat poisonous caterpillars and insects, as well as to use the resin of trees. Plant food also occupies an important place: Lori never refuses fruits, vegetables, herbs, flowering parts of plants.

In captivity, animals are fed with baby cereals with the addition of oils, honey, fresh juices, vitamin complexes, dried fruits. It should be noted that individual individuals have their own taste preferences and habits. In general, the diet should be rich in calcium and protein.

domestic lemur loris can be tamed if the favorite food is received from the hands of the owner. Insects for feeding should be purchased from pet stores to avoid infections from street accidental vectors.

Reproduction and lifespan

Animals are selective in search of a couple, not always individuals of different sexes can form a family. Pregnancy lasts a little more than 6 months and, as a rule, 1-2 cubs are born. Babies appear covered with fur, with open eyes. They cling tightly to the mother's belly, clinging to the wool.

The female carries the cub on herself for about 1.5-2 months. Lactation lasts approximately 4-5 months. Babies can wander from mother to father or close relative, hang on them, and then move to mother for feeding.

Parents take care of the offspring together, but maternal activity is still higher. Only after a year and a half, the stronger offspring become independent and begin to start their own families.

Life expectancy is 12-14 years on average. Examples are known when good care significantly increased lifespan lemur lory.How many live in captivity, depends on the absence of infections and the creation of conditions close to natural. Animals can survive up to 20-25 years.

Unfortunately, there was a fashion for breeding lori. Price funny animal is high, but exotic lovers are trying to do business on the content for the sale of young animals lemur lory. Buy animal is allowed, but without special knowledge and skills of dealing with the most ancient kind, it is difficult to win the trust of a big-eyed primate.

Nycticebus

According to 2010 data, Nycticebus consists of four types:
1. Pygmy lory, ( Nycticebuspygmaeus)
2. Javanese lory (Nycticebusjavanicus)
3. Slow Lori ( Nycticebuscoucang)
4. Bengal Lori ( Nycticebusbengalensis)

The Javan lory was formerly considered a subspecies, but was later relegated to separate species. These semi-monkeys live in different parts South-East Asia.

Habitat of the genusNycticebushighlighted in red. IllustrationPrimateinfoNet.

Slow lorises are primates that live in trees and move along the branches on four legs. They are omnivores and are nocturnal. The basis of the diet of loris are plants and insects. Slow lorises sleep during the day, curled up in a ball in the canopy of trees high above the ground. The predators that pose the main threat to their life are pythons ( Pythonreticulatus), crested eagles ( Spizaetuscirrhatus) and orangutans ( pongopygmaeus). The metabolism of slow lorises is slightly slower than that of mammals of the same size (Gron, 2009).

Colors and coloration of species and subspecies Nycticebus. Illustration taken from the Loris Conservation website.

Different sides of toxicity

The very concept of "poisonous" can have two cardinally different meanings. (AT English language the words “venomous” and “poisonous” can be interchanged in speech, but they mean absolutely not the same thing). So there are toxins released special body animal and become poisonous only when it enters the body of the victim, for example, when bitten ( Englishvenom). They should be distinguished from ready-made poison, which some animals initially produce using special bodies. Such poison enters the body of the victim by inhalation or contact with a poisonous animal ( Englishpoison).

Blue dart frog ( Dendrobatesazureus) is an example of an individual whose mucus contains a strong poison, while spectacle snake (Najanaja) is considered venomous due to its deadly venomous bite.

Brachial gland of slow loris

The flexor or ventral surface of the elbow of the slow loris has a slightly protruding, barely visible knob, which is the brachial gland (Hageyetal., 2006; Kraneetal., 2003). Observations of slow lorises living in captivity have shown that when the animal is disturbed by being handled, it excretes about 10 microliters (μL) of a clear, strong-smelling fluid in the form of apocrine sweat (exudate) from the brachial gland. Usually at this moment, both females and males of slow loris take a protective posture. They tilt their heads down and lift their front paws up, rubbing the secretion from the brachial gland into their head and neck. Loris often lick the brachial gland and rub their head against it. The brachial gland of lorises begins to fully function when they reach the age of 6 weeks (Hageye et al., 2006).

The illustration shows the brachial gland (dark area) on the ventral surface of the foot of a slow loris. Drawing by Helga Schulze (Kraneetal., 2003).

The secret of the brachial gland and the allergenFeld 1

The brachial gland produces an allergen similar to that produced by cats (Hageye et al., 2006; Kraneetal., 2003). This secret of the brachial gland is similar to the feline not only in sequence, but also in the structure of the heterodimeric disulfide bond. Fel D 1 allergen is found mainly in the saliva and sebaceous glands of domestic cats, Feliscatus. People who are allergic to cats react to 5 allergens produced by domestic cats, including Fel D 1. However, biological function Fel D 1 is still currently unknown (Grönlund et al., 2010).

So are slow lorises really poisonous?

In order to answer this question, let's once again recall the difference in the definition of the word "poisonous". A venomous animal injects toxins into the victim's body when bitten. An animal whose body produces toxins can only be potentially poisonous if those toxins enter the victim's body through inhalation or absorption. Literary sources say that people become victims of loris venom due to a bite, and not because the poison enters the human body through contact with a primate. So are lorises venomous? Not really.

Slow lorises have needle-sharp teeth in their lower jaws. Given the constant habit of licking the brachial gland, it is not surprising that sharp teeth and the secret of the shoulder are related to the poisoning of an unsuspecting victim. However, this is not the main thing.

The sharp toothcomb, which can look quite menacing, is mainly for grooming, and therefore its function is less sinister than imagined. The bite of a slow loris is so painful precisely because of the sharpness of the teeth.

Illustration of slow loris teeth taken from the siteLorisconservation. The tooth comb is located on the lower jaw and is shaped like a spade.

According to Wilde's (1972) reports, slow loris bite victims fall into anaphylactic shock(an extreme manifestation of an allergic reaction) followed by hematuria. Despite this, they always recover. Does not exist clinical signs toxic substances in the saliva of slow loris, which could confirm the myth that they are poisonous (Wilde, 1972).

A 34-year-old woman, 19 weeks pregnant, was bitten by a pygmy loris at the zoo where she worked. She only complained about sharp pain where she was bitten. None allergic reactions let alone anaphylactic shock was not observed (Kalimullah et al., 2008).

Slow loris bite reports are not often accompanied by pictures. However, based on such reports, it can be concluded that the loris bite is not venomous at all (Kalimullah et al., 2008; Wilde, 1972). In view of the similarity of the loris brachial secretion allergen and the Feld 1 allergen of domestic cats, the anaphylactic shock described by victims of loris bites is probably nothing more than a reaction to the secretion allergen.

What is the function of the brachial gland in this case?

Hagei (2007) states that the brachial gland is used as an olfactory signaling to mark home and territory boundaries. Most nocturnal primates rely on their sense of smell, and the slow loris is no exception. Because the secretion of the brachial gland is a response to stress or danger, its function may be to deter predators, warn other lorises of danger, or both (Hagey et al., 2006).

I look forward to learning more about these prosimians and the properties of their brachial gland secretion. A much deeper study of the evidence of loris bites is needed in order to ascertain the effect of brachial gland secretion on humans.

Are slow lorises really venomous?

Listliterature :

Gron, KJ. 2009. Primate Factsheets: Slow Loris (Nycticebus) Taxonomy, Morphology & Ecology. Primate InfoNet October 19, 2010

Grönlund, H. Saarne, T. Gafvelin, G. van Hage, M. 2010. The Major Cat Allergen, Fel d 1, in Diagnosis and Therapy. International Archives of Allergy and Immunology 151(4): 265-274.

Hagey, L. R. Fry, BG. Fitch-Snyder, H. 2007. Talking Defensively: A Dual Use for the Brachial Gland Exudate of Slow and Pygmy Lorises. Primate Anti-Predatory Strategies 2: 253-272

Krane, S. Itagaki, Y. Nakanishi, K. Weldon, PJ. 2003. “Venom” of the slow loris: sequence similarity of prosimian skin gland protein and Fel d 1 cat allergen. Naturwissenschaften 90: 60-62.

Kalimullah, EA. Schmidt, S. M. Schmidt, MJ. Lu, JJ. 2008. Beware the Pygmy Slow Loris? Clinical Toxicology 46(7): 602.

Wilde, H. 1972. Anaphylactic Shock Following Bite by a ‘Slow Loris’, Nycticebus coucang. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 21(5): 592-594.

SMALL LORI(Nycticebus pygmaeus) is a small animal of the Loria family, the size of a large chipmunk: its body length does not exceed 23 cm, and its weight is 800 g. This animal lives in dense tropical forests and bamboo groves in Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, parts of China and Cambodia. Sometimes the small slow loris is classified as a lemur, which is not true.
Outwardly, the animal looks funny. Its body is covered with short and dense hair, the color of which varies from brownish-gray to dark rusty, a dark strip of fur stretches along the spine, and there is no tail.
On a short round head are huge eyes and small ears. The eyes are bordered with black circles, and a light stripe runs across the bridge of the nose, as if he is wearing a clown mask. By the way, the little slow loris got its name from the Dutch language, from which it is translated as “clown”.

Surprisingly, this primate is venomous. On the inside elbow joint he has glands, the secretions of which, when mixed with saliva, turn into a very strong poison. This is so unusual for primates that the little loris got the first line in, which are unknown to the general public.
The animal leads a twilight and nocturnal lifestyle. Most Lori spends time in crowns tall trees where he finds shelter, food, and protection from enemies. Unique building paws allows him to hold onto tree branches with a death grip for hours, and hang on two limbs, without tiring at all. The slow loris moves very slowly and carefully, so that even the foliage of trees often remains undisturbed, which is reminiscent of the walking style of a chameleon. But the ability to jump well, unlike lemurs and galagos, this species has lost.

Small thick lorises live in solitude. Each individual has its own territory, which marks with urine, but the territories of males are larger, and often overlap with several territories of females. The fact that the female is ready for mating, the male learns from the enzymes she secretes along with urine. After fertilization, the female bears one or two cubs for 188 days. Little thick loris do not build any nests, babies are born on any suitable branch. They are born fully formed, and for some time travel on their parents, clutching their fur with their paws.

After two weeks, the cubs can already move independently in the crowns of trees after their mother, simultaneously learning to search for food on the example adult. Up to about 9 months, the young remain with the female (the male does not participate in the upbringing of the offspring). By this time, females are already able to mate, while males become sexually mature at the age of 18-20 months of age.
In wild nature little slow loris eats both plants and animal food: insects and their larvae, beetles, small birds and eggs, lizards, fruits and other vegetation. The animal finds its prey with the help of sharp binocular vision and smell, and eats it hanging on its hind limbs, holding food with its front ones.