🐾 LandCare difficulty: AdvancedLegal complexity: High — restricted in many states
Red slender loris
Loris tardigradus
The red slender loris is a small, large-eyed nocturnal primate endemic to Sri Lanka's rainforests. Endangered by habitat loss and capture for the illegal pet and traditional-medicine trades, it is a protected species and unsuited to private keeping.
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Quick facts
| Size | Small nocturnal primate ~18-26 cm, with enormous eyes. |
| Lifespan | 12–18 years |
| Native region | Sri Lanka |
| Climate | 🌴 Tropical |
| Genus | Loris |
Habitat & enclosure
Lives in rainforest and tropical dry forest, moving slowly and deliberately through the branches at night. Forest clearing and capture for the pet and folk-medicine trades drive declines. It is strictly protected and CITES-listed; this profile is conservation/education only, and the cruel realities of the loris pet trade make private ownership unacceptable.
Diet
An insectivore that also takes small vertebrates, eggs, and some plant matter, foraging slowly and stealthily at night. Its specialized nocturnal lifestyle is poorly served by captivity outside expert programs.
Behavior & temperament
Strictly nocturnal with huge forward-facing eyes for night vision, it moves with a slow, hand-over-hand gait. Wild-caught lorises in the pet trade often suffer greatly, underscoring why conservation, not collection, is the right response to their appeal.
Reviewed and signed off by: KinStation Editorial — conservation profile (pending DVM/biologist review)