Until the 1960s, the hunting of slow lorises was sustainable, but due to growing demand, decreased supply, and the subsequent increased value of the marketed wildlife, slow lorises have been overexploited and are in decline. With the use of modern technology, such as battery-powered search lights, slow lorises have become easier to hunt because of their eye shine. Traditional medicine made from loris parts is thought to cure many diseases, and the demand for this medicine from wealthy urban areas has replaced the subsistence hunting traditionally performed in poor rural areas. A survey by primatologist Anna Nekaris and colleagues showed that these belief systems were so strong that the majority of respondents expressed reluctance to consider alternatives to loris-based medicines.
Slow lorises are sold locally at street markets, but are also sold internationally over the Internet and in pet stores. They are especially popular or trendy in Japan, particularly among women. The reasons for their popularity, according to the Japan Wildlife Conservation Society, are that “they’re easy to keep, they don’t cry, they’re small, and just very cute.” Because of their “cuteness”, videos of pet slow lorises are some of the most frequently watched animal-related viral videos on YouTube. In March 2011, a newly posted video of a slow loris holding a cocktail umbrella had been viewed more than six million times, while an older video of a slow loris being tickled had been viewed more than five million times.
What people don’t realise is that the slow loris’ “cuteness” is just their passive-aggressive defense mechanism to stress. In actual fact, the slow loris in the video had just had a head trauma and was disoriented by the bright lights, grabbing on to the umbrella like it would cling onto a tree branch from its native habitat.
The development of modern technology and the proliferation of the Internet in recent years have greatly increased humans’ access to these primates without sufficient knowledge and understanding of the animal’s lifestyle and behaviour. The result? An exponential increase in demand of slow lorises that exacerbated the hunting and capturing of them to such a rate that it is no longer sustainable, greatly endangering the primate.