Slowly Loving the Venomous Loris

Found in jungles of Southeast Asia and thereabouts, these cute and cuddly-looking critters can be dangerous. No need to run screaming from the building, deaths to humans from their bite are rare. You can walk away. The moniker slow loris is appropriate.

Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Aprisonsan (CC BY-SA 4.0)

There are a few venomous mammals (including several types of shrews), but they are not known to be fatal to humans. However, the slow loris can give a defensive bite that is potentially fatal. Ironic, because they are used in the exotic pet trade — don't even think about it! The slow loris uses its lack of speed to its advantage, and it also has the ability to mimic venomous snakes. It is another example of the provisions built in by the Master Engineer.

Slow lorises are small primates that dwell in the jungles of Southeast Asia. While other primates like monkeys swing and leap through the trees, slow lorises sneak across branches. Even the quicker members of the loris kind, the slender lorises and the pottos, climb at a cautious pace. But if you’re tempted to think slowness is a handicap, not so fast. The slow loris’ sluggishness contributes to a feature called crypsis—the use of stealth to avoid predators and to hunt.

To read the entire short article or download the audio, click on "Slow Loris: Fuzzy Can Be Fatal".