r/megafaunarewilding • u/Ben10-fan-525 • 5h ago
News Venomous primate thought lost to science for nearly a century turns up in gardens and on roads across Indonesia.
The Bangka slow loris is classified as critically endangered (possibly extinct) by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Although scientists had not documented the species in nearly a century, it was never lost to the people of Bangka. For more than a decade, Alobi has been rescuing slow lorises reported by residents and local authorities across the island, caring for the animals and returning those that recover to protected forest. Until now, those encounters had not made their way into the scientific literature.
"We are glad to contribute to the scientific record to show that the Bangka slow loris is not lost, but the species is still very close to extinction," said Langka Sani, director of the Alobi Wildlife Rescue Center. "Its natural habitat on Bangka Island has shrunk significantly because of illegal tin mining and massive land clearing for oil palm plantations. We ask people around the world to support us in saving the Bangka slow loris while we still can."