Loris Conservation Photo Journal
Posted at 10:12 am March 21, 2007 by Zoo InternQuest Intern
Slow lorises are prosimians that are found in Southeast Asia. The San Diego Zoo has been involved with conservation and study of lorises for over 20 years.
Genetics analysis has become more important in the world of conservation. Based on genetic comparisons of individual lorises that looked different, a new species, the Bengal loris, was recently named because it was different enough genetically from other slow lorises. Lena, the loris shown here, came to the Zoo in the 1980s and is one of the oldest animals in the population.
The Zoo InternQuest participants take a parting shot, posing in front of the building that was the original home of the Zoo's hospital and then became the CRES facility. In 2004, the new state-of-the-art Beckman Center for Conservation Research was completed at the Wild Animal Park campus.
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March 21st, 2007 at 1:28 pm
Lena is adorable. How long do Loris's live in the wild, and in captivity? I don't recall seeing one at any zoo I have visited, so how many zoos in the US have them in their collection?
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:10 pm
Margaret,
Unfortunately, I was busy taking pictures and did not get a chance to write down all of the information given to us but I do know that there are 62 pygmy lorises in 21 accredited zoos throughout the nation and the life span of slow lorises is about 23 years. Hopefully that helped a little.
I am very happy that you have been enjoying our journals!
Intern Kati
P.S. I agree. I think Lena is the most adorable animal I have seen throughout the Zoo InternQuest.