Mammals of the WorldGray Slender Loris
Loris lydekkerianus
- Order
- Primates
- Family
- Lorisidae
- Genus
- Loris
- IUCN status
- NT
- Distribution
- India|Sri Lanka
- Realm
- Indomalaya
Other names: Dry Zone Slender Loris|Northern Slender Loris|Northern Ceylon Slender Loris|Highland Slender Loris|Malabar Slender Loris|Mysore Slender Loris
About this species
- Size
- About 23–24cm
- Weight
- 180–290g
- Diet
- Almost entirely insects, more than half of it ants and termites
- Habitat
- Dry semi-deciduous, evergreen and montane forest and scrub, including acacia and tamarind scrub near farmland; to about 2,000m
- Range
- Southern India, roughly between the Tapti and Godavari rivers south to the coast, and Sri Lanka
- Litter size
- 1–2 young
- Gestation
- About 165–170 days
The grey slender loris is a small, tailless primate with grey or reddish fur above, a darker stripe down the middle of the back and a white belly. The large eyes sit close together and face forward, the snout is small and pointed, and the limbs are extremely slender. Males weigh 180–290 g and measure about 24 cm. It is native to India and Sri Lanka (Animal Diversity Web; Wikipedia, general species account).
In south-western India it occurs roughly between the Tapti and Godavari rivers south to the coast, including the dry eastern slopes of the Western Ghats. In southern India the nominate race is often found in acacia and tamarind forest or scrub near cultivated land. It is nocturnal, arboreal and forages alone, sleeping by day in groups of up to seven. Nearly all of its food is insects. Its reproductive rate is among the lowest of any primate under 500 g (Wikipedia, general species account).
Description: Wildlife of India guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)