#lorises

As you can see, I am extremely in favor of small, nocturnal creatures with huge eyes, and I've tried to vary the species so this isn't simply a list of nearly identical tarsiers. Fun fact: these species are not particularly related! It's likely close to the ancestral primate form and we should all be aiming for this aesthetic, as a species.

(As usual, all photos credited in links)

1. Aye-Aye

2. Red Slender Loris (Grey Slender Loris is also perfect, please look at all the slender loris photos here)

3. Philippine Tarsier

4. Mohol Bushbaby

5. Gray Mouse Lemur

The Spiny-Backed Chimpanzee is an alleged primate found in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Spiny-Backed Chimpanzee is described as gray chimpanzees that are between four and five feet tall with spines growing out of their backs that stand up when they are agitated.The Spiny-Backed Chimpanzee was first sighted between 1997-2002 by the U.S. Navy on an expedition to the Congo. The Navy team saw the chimps trying to kill an animal and they allegedly filmed their encounter but it is believed to be a well-kept military secret. In Guide des Animaux Cachés a book written and illustrated by Philippe Coudray he believes that the Navy’s encounter was close to Lake Tanganyika. Some people believe that the Spiny-Backed Chimpanzee is a loris-like creature called a Potto however the two look nothing alike which leads to even more questions.

I bet you woke up with the same question plaguing your mind. Are they monkeys? Are they some sort of skunk dogs? Well, they’re both, kind of! 

They belong to a different brand of primates— The Strepsirrhines. A sub-order named for their characteristic “wet nose.” Lemurs, lorises, galagos, and pottos are all Strepsirrhine primates, which is why they look and act differently than most of the name-brand monkeys and apes we know and love. Everything else, (monkeys apes) are Haplorrhines, but we’ll learn more about them later. 

The slow loris’ huge eyes and soft fur make it incredibly cute and appealing to humans, but these features also cause people to think the slow loris makes a tempting pet.  The exotic pet trade in slow lorises is now one of the biggest reasons behind their decline.  The little primates are popular pets in Indonesia, and are frequently smuggled out to Japan, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Russia, and even as far as the US to be purchased by unwitting owners.  Many of these “pet” slow lorises have their teeth clipped or pulled in order to neutralise their toxic bites, which risks infection and death for the animal.  It is also difficult for the average person to replicate the loris’ complex diet, meaning that these “pet” lorises are often malnourished and/or obese.  They are also very prone to stress and shock, as well as sensitive to light.  And finally, as slow lorises do not breed well in captivity, almost all of the animals purchased as pets have been taken from the wild.  As many as 95% of these hapless animals will die of infection or improper care.

Pasar is one of two baby slow lorises kidnapped by illegal pet traders to be sold at Jakarta animal markets. The pair are recovering at the International Animal Rescue sanctuary in Ciapus, Java