Venomous Indonesian primate feared extinct still clings on – but threats persist.
Researchers from Indonesian and Austrian organizations report that the Bangka slow loris, listed as possibly extinct since 2015, survives across Bangka Island, though habitat loss and other hazards still threaten it.
A small, venomous primate that scientists feared was extinct still lives on Indonesia's Bangka Island, according to a recent study. The Bangka slow loris (Nycticebus bancanus), native to parts of Borneo and Bangka, was listed as critically endangered and possibly extinct on the IUCN Red List in 2015. It had last been documented in the scientific literature around 1937. The study's authors say sporadic sightings since then never appeared in a published study.
For the new work, researchers analyzed more than 90 Bangka slow lorises rescued by the Alobi Wildlife Rescue Center, a local NGO. The animals were found in backyards, along roadsides and on plantations, and residents had contacted Alobi about them. The co-authors come from Alobi, the Taman Safari Prigen Conservation Breeding Ark in Indonesia, and the Haus des Meeres Aqua Terra Zoo in Vienna, where co-author Timon Glaw is a graduate student. Glaw said he was surprised that such a distinctive primate stayed almost entirely overlooked by science for nearly a century.
In 2021 alone, Alobi rescued 43 lorises, and the team could map 39 of them across all four districts of Bangka, including Pangkalpinang, the island's largest city. The authors say this indicates the species is still widely distributed on the island.
The paper also describes ongoing dangers. In 2021, seven rescued lorises had electrical burns from power lines, and others were hurt in vehicle collisions, dog attacks or fence entanglements. At least three died. The authors report that loris forest habitat on the island shrank by 62% between 2000 and 2012. Langka Sani, Alobi's director and a co-author, said in a press release that illegal tin mining and large-scale clearing for oil palm plantations were behind the loss. Even so, 86 lorises rescued since 2015 that later recovered were released into remaining protected forest fragments.
The authors write, "Our findings clearly demonstrate that N. bancanus is not yet extinct." They recommend a formal reassessment of its Red List status to remove the "possibly extinct" tag. They also call for habitat protections, monitored tracking after release, and an ex-situ conservation breeding program. Glaw told Mongabay that protecting the loris's remaining habitats, along with Bangka's threatened freshwater ecosystems, could help safeguard many other unique species that get far less attention.
At a Glance
- The Bangka slow loris was listed as critically endangered and possibly extinct on the IUCN Red List in 2015.
- Alobi rescued 43 lorises in 2021 and mapped 39 of them across all four districts of Bangka.
- Loris forest habitat on the island decreased by 62% between 2000 and 2012, the authors report.
- 86 recovered lorises rescued since 2015 were released into remaining protected forest fragments.
- The authors recommend reassessing the species' Red List status to remove the "possibly extinct" label.
Sources
This brief was written by Brightside Report from the reporting linked above. Spot an error? Request a correction.