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The IUCN 2000 Redlist lists the slow loris as data deficient
meaning that more information is needed on this species status
in the wild to determine the extent of threat to its wild population.
No one really knows actual numbers of this species in the wild.
This species is also protected from trade under Appendix II of
CITES. Wildlife officials in Vietnam consider this species to
be endangered. Scientists have been conducting studies on loris
behavior, biology, reproduction, and genetics.
Major threats to lorises include local hunters capturing lorises
because they are valuable in the Chinese medicine market. A local
villager can get approximately $3 (American) for a pygmy loris,
and slow lorises bring as much as $15, because they are larger.
This is comparable to two weeks' salary for the average Vietnamese
person. Locals also use lorises for food and medicine. They're
also kept as pets and sold to tourists.
Vietnamese officials have identified an island in a reserve that
has suitable re-release habitat for confiscated lorises. They
hope to attach radio-collars to the released lorises to study
their behavior and adjustment to their release site.
Scientists at the Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species
(CRES) at the San Diego Zoo have recently published a loris husbandry
manual that has been translated into Vietnamese. It will allow
availability of basic loris husbandry information to Vietnamese
wildlife officials, local zoos, and rescue centers.
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