The Bangka slow loris is still living on its island

Scientists had no reliable record of the Bangka slow loris between the early 1930s and a study published in the journal Spixiana. The Jakarta Post, citing Reuters, reported on October 21, 2026, that the Alobi Wildlife Rescue Center had come across more than 90 of the primates between 2015 and 2025 on Bangka, off southeastern Sumatra. Study author Timon Glaw, of the Haus des Meeres Aqua Terra Zoo in Vienna, said the animals came from different parts of the island, so the species has survived in more than one area.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature listed the loris in 2020 as critically endangered and possibly extinct. Glaw said tin mining and oil-palm clearing have shrunk its forest. Many animals were found in houses, gardens, plantations, or roads. Some were badly hurt, including by electrical wires, and a few died despite treatment. After recovery, 86 were released into habitat the rescuers judged suitable. The species is nocturnal, reddish brown, and venomous, a rare trait in mammals. The new paper documents that it is still there. It does not estimate how many remain in the wild.