The hedonistic Gray slender loris and traditional hocus-pocus

Wilpattu National Prak

Fun Facts

Gray slender lorises are endemic to Sri Lanka and nocturnal primates who take the phrase ‘all night long’ to the next level! When a female consents to a sexual encounter (which sometimes involves laying upside down) it usually lasts for 3 – 11 minutes. However, females are infamously promiscuous and take on consecutive partners – which means when one male is done copulating, another will immediately follow, making mating sessions go as long as 12 hours! Thus, it’s of little surprise that the Gray slender loris loves to be social; during the day they sleep in social groups of up to 7 and form what researchers call a ‘sleeping ball’ or ‘sleeping pod’, where they connect limbs and tangle up in one big sleeping orgy!

Did you know?

The threat to these primates is sadly increasing, due to bizarre beliefs and rituals; in countries like Cambodia it is believed that eating loris flesh treats leprosy. Tonics made from lorises are believed to be medicinal – healing wounds, broken bones, and helping women regain strength after childbirth. In Sri Lanka, dismembered loris body parts are used in curses or to ward off the ‘evil eye’. Tarot readers use the loris to help them pick cards, and loris tears are believed to be an ingredient in love potions. These gentle creatures are also often caught for the pet trade, leading to their decline in the wild.

Whereabouts

Located in the North Central dry areas and the Central Province respectively. Gray slender lorises inhabit forest, plantations and jungles of dry shrub, and seem to prefer degraded forests instead of primary forest, often living in areas near human habitations. If you’re staying at Mahoora Wilpattu, enjoy an all-inclusive night walk to see the loris in real life! This is however a silver lining, as Mahoora’s campgrounds act as a sanctuary for lorises due to land clearance in the surrounding areas.