Found: Sri Lankan primate thought to be extinct for 72 years

^{First photo ever of the Horton Plains slender loris: an eight inch tall male. Photo copyright C. Mahanayakage, ZSL - Sri Lanka}

One of the rarest primates in the world, which was so elusive it was thought to have become extinct, has been caught on camera for the first time, researchers told Ada Derana. The Horton Plains Slender Loris though to be extinct for 72 years has been photographed by an expedition led by researches from Colomboand Open University.

 

 

Speaking to Ada Derana research leader Saman Gamage said that this is the first time in the world a Slender Loris has been photographed. He added that considered the rarest primate in the planet the Slender Loris has been named in the 25 species most threatened to extinction.

 

 

The Horton Plains slender loris had only been seen four times since 1937 and vanished between 1939 and 2002, leading scientists to believe the wide-eyed mammal had died out completely.

 

 

A subspecies of the red slender loris (Loris tardigradus , the Horton plains slender loris is classified by the IUCN Red List as Endangered. The species is threatened by habitat loss, as well as hunting. Researchers recommend that fragmented forests need to be reconnected in order for Sri Lanka’s lorises to avoid extinction. EDGE, which is currently focusing on the species, has placed the red slender loris number 22 in terms of endangerment and evolutionary distinctness for the world´s mammals.

 

The picture of the endangered mammal shows an adult male Horton Plains slender loris, characterised by short limbs and long dense fur, sitting on a forest branch.

 

 

The sub-species of slender loris has shorter and sturdier fore and hind limbs than those of any other loris in either Sri Lanka or southern India, showing how the mammal has adapted to living in the cool montane - or highland - forest, the researchers said.

 

 

The research has been carried out by Sri Lankan researchers working in partnership with the Zoological Society of London.

 

 

ZSL conservation biologist Dr Craig Turner said: “We are thrilled to have captured the first ever photographs and prove its continued existence - especially after its 65-year disappearing act.”

 

 

Slender lorises are small nocturnal primates which are only found in the tropical forests of southern India and Sri Lanka.

 

 

They are about 6-10 inches long (15cm-25cm) and have large saucer-like eyes which help their night-time hunting.