The gray slender loris (Loris lydekkerianus ) is a species of primate in the family Loridae. It is native to India and Sri Lanka and inhabits subtropical and tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
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NocturnalNocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal",...
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InsectivoresAn insectivore is a carnivorous plant or animal that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of e...
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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ArborealArboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some anima...
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AltricialAltricial animals are those species whose newly hatched or born young are relatively immobile. They lack hair or down, are not able to obtain food ...
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ScansorialScansorial animals are those that are adapted to or specialized for climbing. Many animals climb not only in tress but also in other habitats, such...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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TerritorialA territory is a sociographical area that which an animal consistently defends against the conspecific competition (or, occasionally, against anima...
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ViviparousAmong animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
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PolygynandryPolygynandry is a mating system in which both males and females have multiple mating partners during a breeding season.
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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Big-Eyed AnimalsThe Gray slender loris is a small primate with large, round eyes and long thin limbs. Despite the name, it is not always gray, some of them being quite reddish, and each subspecies (of which there are four) varies in coat color. It is a tree-dwelling animal that travels along the branches on all fours, stretching between the ends of branches to reach the next tree. Like all lorises, each of its digits has a nail, except for the second one of each foot, which has instead a relatively long claw, the ‘toilet’ claw, which it uses when grooming. The loris’s canines and lower incisors are also used for grooming.
The Gray slender loris inhabits eastern and southern India and Sri Lanka. Inside this large range, every subspecies lives in a different area. The Mysore slender loris occurs in the Eastern Ghats, in eastern and southern India, while the Malabar slender loris inhabits the Western Ghats and the west coast of India. The remaining two subspecies, the dry zone slender loris and the highland slender loris, both live in Sri Lanka, in the north-central dry areas and the central province respectively. Gray slender lorises inhabit primary and secondary rainforests, dry semi-deciduous forests, and montane cloud forests. They are also often found in plantations and areas near human habitations.
Gray slender lorises are nocturnal animals and live a social life. In the daytime, they nearly always sleep in groups of 2 to 7 that usually consist of a female adult, her offspring, and a few adult or sub-adult males. These sleeping groups usually use the same places and consist of the same members. The site is generally in the center of the primary female’s home range. Individuals who sleep together usually form themselves into a “sleeping ball” in which they tangle their limbs together. They wake at dusk and groom each other, with grooming taking place between individuals of either gender and all ages. Gray slender lorises usually hunt on their own, though friendly foraging pairs have been recorded. Social interactions generally occur between male and female adults, as well as between adults and juveniles, but they are hardly ever between same gender adults.
Gray slender lorises are insectivores, eating mostly ants and termites, though they will also eat beetles and orthopterans, mollusks, spiders, and occasionally small vertebrates.
Gray slender lorises practice a polygynandrous (promiscuous) system of mating. Female lorises mate with multiple males during one mating season and may mate with multiple males one after the other. Throughout the year males will mate with multiple females. According to some researchers, the mating season takes place biannually, from April to June and then October to December, while others claim that births occur throughout the year and reproductive peaks are just the result of the gestation period being for 5.5 months. Equal amounts of single and twin births occur. The timeline for infant development is typically shaped by ‘parking’ of infants by their mothers. During the first 4 weeks, mothers carry their infants all the time, then they begin to ‘park’ them near the sleeping area at night before going off to forage. Mothers provide milk that is unusually high-energy before weaning, which takes place at 5 months old. Males reach sexual maturity at about 10 months and females between 10 and 15 months.
Throughout its range, many human activities threaten the gray slender loris. In India and Sri Lanka, habitat loss has affected this species and the plantations where the loris lives are an unstable habitat, subject to harvesting at any time. The Gray slender loris is also a victim of road traffic, can be electrocuted on power lines that are un-insulated, and hunted for the pet trade and to be used for traditional medicines.
The IUCN Red List and other sources do not provide the Gray slender loris total population size. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC), but its numbers today are decreasing.
Gray slender lorises affect insect populations as predators, especially termites and ants, as these creatures make up most of their diet.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...