Bengal Slow Loris

About this species

Size

26–38cm, head to tail

Weight

1–2.1kg

Diet

Mostly fruit; also insects, tree gum, snails and small vertebrates

Habitat

Evergreen and deciduous forest; arboreal

Range

North-east India, Bangladesh and Indochina to southern China

Litter size

Usually a single young

The Bengal slow loris is the largest slow loris, measuring 26–38 cm from head to tail and weighing 1–2.1 kg. Like other slow lorises it has a wet nose, a round head, a flat face, large eyes, small ears, a vestigial tail and dense woolly fur. It has the largest range of any slow loris species, from Bangladesh and north-east India through Indochina to southern China (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is the only nocturnal primate in the north-eastern Indian states of Assam, Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura. It is arboreal, lives in small family groups, marks its territory with urine and sleeps by day curled up in dense vegetation or tree holes. Fruit makes up most of the diet, with insects, tree gum, snails and small vertebrates. It breeds once every 12–18 months, usually with a single young that the mother carries for the first three months (Wikipedia, general species account).

Description: Wildlife of India guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)