Pygmy Slow Loris - Conservation

Conservation

The pygmy slow loris has declined in numbers as a result of extensive habitat degradation throughout its range, including north-eastern Cambodia, the Yunnan Province of China, and Vietnam. In the Yunnan Province, nearly all primary evergreen forests have vanished and secondary forests have been heavily degraded; as of 2005, forest cover has been reduced by 42% since the mid-1990s. The use of defoliants, such as Agent Orange, during the Vietnam War and the ongoing clearing of forests in Vietnam have resulted in a considerable loss of habitat. As of 2003, the forest cover had been reduced to 30% of its original area, with only 10% of the remaining forest consisting of the closed-canopy forests preferred by the pygmy slow loris.

Due to a combination of unstable political situations in its range, and its nocturnal, arboreal lifestyle, population data for the pygmy slow loris are scarce. The population in China has been estimated at less than 500 individuals. In the 1980s, one estimate placed the population at roughly 72,000 individuals, while another estimate from the same period placed the number around 600–700 individuals. This enormous discrepancy underlines the difficulty to calculate population size without detailed field studies. In Laos, the wildlife status report of 1999 describes the species as "little known" and "common", based on availability of potential habitat. In 2000 the IUCN classified the pygmy slow loris as "Vulnerable", as did the Vietnam Red Data Book the same year. The European Union (EU) (2005) describes the population status in Laos as "apparently widespread, but not common anywhere".

In addition to habitat destruction, the pygmy slow loris is seriously threatened by hunting and trade. Within its geographic range and neighbor countries, the trade in the pygmy slow loris has recently increased due to economic changes and human population growth, and the trend is expected to continue. Decreased sightings in the field and at animal markets indicate that wild populations are being depleted since the low reproduction rate of the pygmy slow loris cannot keep pace with these large-scale off-takes. Accordingly, conservationists and field biologists fear local extinctions in the near future. Between 1998 and 2006, 70% of pygmy slow lorises seized by authorities died before reaching a sheltering zoo, resulting in replacement demand and additional captures from the wild.

Within the whole Indochinese region, populations of the pygmy slow loris have drastically decreased as a result of military activities, defoliant spraying, logging, and massive off-takes, especially in Vietnam. It has been extirpated in the northern part of this country due to the belief that it is a crop pest. The demand of the pet and the medicinal markets is further aggravating the situation, which is reflected by its abundance in many local markets. This demand has recently increased due to human population growth and improved economic conditions within the region. According to CITES, this activity is considered unsustainable.

The population in southern China has been reduced to a few hundred individuals, and by another report, may be locally extinct. The decreasing number of pygmy slow lorises for sale corroborates reports of rapid declines in Vietnamese populations. By 2007, field sightings were becoming scarce, and there were reports that it had disappeared from large parts of its range, particularly in areas with intense logging and agriculture. In Cambodia, widespread declines have been associated with increases in hunting pressure during 2001 and 2002. In one field survey, three areas with high encounter rates in early 2008 were resurveyed in late 2008 and 2009, but no individuals were encountered. This change was thought to be due to both high hunting pressures and gold mine development.

Both the Bengal slow loris and pygmy slow loris are found in more than 20 protected areas, although their populations are either low or insufficiently recorded. The pygmy slow loris is protected in most of its range states: in Cambodia, China, and Vietnam. This makes hunting and capture illegal, and in China and Vietnam, possession and storage are also illegal. Under Vietnamese law it has had the highest level of wildlife protection since 1992, all exploitation and use of the pygmy slow loris is illegal. However, enforcement is poor while minor penalties have little deterring effect. In terms of international protection, the species was elevated to Appendix I of CITES in 2007. In addition, since October 2001, the European Union prohibits imports for all wild specimens of pygmy slow loris from Laos and Cambodia for conservation reasons.

The species has been recorded in at least 6 national parks and 12 nature reserves. In China, Daweishan, Fenshuiling, and Huanglianshan Reserve maintained approximately 80% of that country's population of the species in 2007. However, the species is still vulnerable to hunting, even in protected areas. In Laos, the species has been recorded in seven National Biodiversity Conservation Areas.

In Vietnam, confiscated pygmy lorises are usually taken to the Endangered Primate Rescue Centre in Cuc Phuong National Park, to be reintroduced into the wild. Non-experts may find it difficult to distinguish between the pygmy slow loris and the Sunda slow loris, as both have similarly reddish fur, which is variable in colors. In international shipments, pygmy lorises may be even mixed up with pottos or lemurs.