Muria was one of the rehabilitated slow lorises in the care of our primate rescue centre in Ciapus, Java. She is a female Javan slow loris (Nycticebus javanicus), given by the pet owner to our team in Indonesia in 2010. After completing the rehabilitation process at the centre, she was then transported to the habituation cage in Salak Mountain National Park. Fitted with a radio collar, she spent about three months being habituated to her new surroundings. She was then released on 14 June 2012 and monitored by the IAR team for about fifteen months. On 9 September 2013, Muria’s collar was removed and she became a fully wild slow loris again.
During the monitoring process Muria was reported as having a slight irritation on her neck, so she was recaptured and given medical treatment by the veterinary team. Once recovered, she was released once more. Monitoring has confirmed her ability to fend for herself in the wild. She was seen feeding on nectar of Kaliandra (Calliandra calothyrsus) and Seuseureuhan (Piper aduncum), sap of Jengkol (Archidendron pauciflorum) and various insects too. She was even observed mating with a wild slow loris. It proved that she was completely habituated to her environment and had every chance of living successfully back in the wild.Conservation efforts for wildlife like slow lorises which involve the process of releasing them back into the wild are not straightforward. It’s not as easy as taking them from their habitat. One loris has to follow a long process before they can be returned to nature.
It becomes our homework to spread the message on slow loris conservation. And we would like to invite you to spread the conservation message with us: “Please stop hunting, buying and keeping slow lorises as a pet!”
