The pygmy loris is a small, nocturnal primate with a compact body, short dense fur, and a small round head with large, saucer-shaped eyes. Instead of a long tail for climbing, they crawl slowly along branches, hand-over-foot, using large hands and opposable thumbs.

What They Eat
Using their keen senses of sight and smell to find food, pygmies dine on insects, small mammals, and birds-often eating prey that other animals avoid, like creatures with irritating hairs or foul smells. To capture prey, they grip branches with their hind feet and lunge forward, snatching the prey with their hands.

Where They Live
These small primates spend their lives in trees. They live in the jungles of Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and southern China, where they sneak along branches unnoticed as they pass through the forest.

What They Do
The day is spent curled up in a tree hollow or in a nest made of leaves. Preferring to live alone or in small groups, when in danger, pygmies bury their heads in their hands and use their backs and shoulders like protective shields. Infants are usually “parked” on a branch while the mother forages for food.

How They’re Doing
The pygmy loris is threatened by deforestation, hunting, and capture for the pet trade.

Encourage your family and friends to get involved by explaining the plight of the pygmy loris.

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Due to capture for the pet trade, and because 76% of their native habitat has been lost to logging and military activities, the pygmy loris is becoming increasingly rare. Less than 13% of their population lives in protected areas.

Things the Zoo's done/doing

The Minnesota Zoo, in cooperation with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), currently participates in the Pygmy Slow Loris Species Survival Plan (SSP). Part of this includes managing the breeding of this species in order to maintain a healthy and genetically diverse population in zoos. Since 2001, the Minnesota Zoo has successfully birthed 7 pygmies that have gone into the SSP pool.