Continuing from our last Creature Feature with Professor Anna Nekaris OBE and esteemed lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University, we’re shedding a light on the Loris population’s largest threats, and the role that social media plays.
Trigger warning: this article contains graphic details of harm inflicted upon the Loris. Please read with caution if you are distressed by animal cruelty.
Deadly threat #1 - The illegal pet trade and the impacts of social media photo-prop trade
Whilst Lorises look cute and cuddly, little fire faces across the globe are too often stolen from their forest homes and kept as exotic pets, in areas such as Russia and Japan for their exotic and lovable aesthetic.
Sadly, the illegal smuggling and pet trade involves lorises having their teeth clipped - an extremely painful process to prevent venomous bites. This also involves smuggling many lorises in small containers where most die in transit.
Social media and photo props
You may encounter videos online of these primates in a domestic setting, however they aren’t domesticated animals. Domestication is a process that takes hundreds and thousands of years. Lorises are wild nocturnal creatures who belong in their forest habitats.
Professor Nekaris shares: “This illegal pet trade is exacerbated by these Youtube and Instagram videos and TikTok, glamorising loris pet ownership. It creates a sense of ‘like’ currency, especially with ‘photo-prop trade’ where Lorises are paraded on beaches and in bars, and used in photos for tourists. We’ve seen in studies that social media likes and engagements increase when lorises are used in photos which fuels this trade, with no consideration for the welfare of the loris. ”
“We have worked with Instagram to try to take some of those videos down and have created wildlife warnings. The trouble is, it's just the slow loris hashtag meaning that a lot of people will only receive that censored warning for the conservation message, rather than the community taking down the actual videos of illegal pet ownership. ”
It’s important that if you see a video of a loris as a pet, that you report this immediately. Don’t, like, comment or engage - even if it’s to share your concerns or disapproval. It fuels the algorithm and boosts the popularity of the content.
Deadly threat #2 - Voodoo black magic
Lorises are the target of black magic in ritualistic voodoo practices. This means they are sold as voodoo dolls, where cruelty is inflicted upon these forest babies to curse and intend harm upon others.
Deadly threat #3 - Medicinal trade
Our playful primates are believed in some local traditions to cure over 100 diseases and conditions which is why they are traded with the belief that if Western medicine cures the symptoms, animal medicine can cure the disease. Unfortunately, this means that Lorises are often found dead, stretched and dried, to be sold on the market with no regard for conservation of these beautiful beings of the forest.
Why Lorises aren’t Pets
Professor Nekaris shares; “anyone who loves animals and wants to have an animal as a pet because they love it wouldn't want to have a malnourished, socially sad, blind animal.”
Nocturnal animals don’t match human life routines
Lorises are nocturnal in the wild. When turned into pets, Lorises are often subject to high exposure to light, causing blindness and eye diseases, due to the unnatural levels of light exposure that they wouldn’t receive in the wild.
Highly venomous
Whilst poachers and illegal smugglers clip the teeth of lorises to make envenomation less of a problem for potential pet owners, there is no way to actually prevent the venom in Lorises. This means that teeth clipping is essentially pure pain for these primates. Even just by touching a Loris, a human can be envenomated as the saliva used to clean their fur contains toxins capable of causing anaphylaxis. .
Keeping Loris families together
The Loris thrives on social connections and family. They shouldn’t be alone, even with the company of a human being, they need to be with their own species to be truly happy.
Picky eaters - unique and specialised diet that cannot be replicated
Eating poisonous insects, tree gum, sap and nectar is hard to replicate and can’t typically be found at your local pet store which is why as a pet owner, you’ll never be able to replicate a Lorises diet. Even zoos have challenging times in sourcing the nutrients and types of food Lorises consume on a daily basis. When turned into pets, lorises can often be subject to diabetes and malnourishment due to owners not being able to meet the needs of this wild animal, compared to its usual variety of rainforest snacks
Poo-E! What’s that smell?
Even with all of the air fresheners in the world, Professor Nekaris shares, “the Lorises main form of communication is scent marking and their urine smells really really terrible and there's no way to stop them rubbing their urine and other scent glands over surfaces. There’s no way to stop this which is why they really shouldn’t be pets”.
___
Thank you for reading our latest feature with Ecology Expert of the Month, Professor Anna Nekaris OBE.
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!
Comments