Another Victim of the Wildlife Pet Trade

And here we go again, another Bengal slow loris (Nycticebus bengalensis) cruelly captured from the wild becomes a failed unwanted pet. The loris in question was caught from the wild as an adult and then placed in the small barren cage you see in the photographs, he probably spent numerous days confined to this cage until the captors thought it was a bad idea to keep this wild loris as a pet. As you can see from the pictures he has injuries on his head caused by repetitive attempts to escape.

The Bengal slow loris is listed as Vulnerable (VU) by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, due to loss of habitat and severe pressures from hunting, there is more than 30% reduction in population over three generations. It is predicted to decline by more than 30% in the next three generations over its entire range due to continuing hunting pressures and loss of habitat. The major threats that this species’ habitat faces include farming, timber removal, human settlement, road building, dams, power lines, fragmentations, soil loss and erosion, and deliberately set fires. They are hunted and traded for food, traditional “medicine”, sport, and as pets.

This little guy is now settling into life at WFFT in a bigger temporary enclosure, in which he will recover prior to being released back to the location he was captured. We will wait for this prolonged dry season to be over before returning him home. The number of lorises arriving at WFFT in need of help is increasing year upon year. Keep wildlife wild and not a pets!!!