Steve GannMoody Gardens Announces Births of Rare Pygmy Loris
April 14th 2010 21:53
This is a very rare event as there are only 75 in North America and 200 known Loris in captivity around the world.
Mother Luyen and father Icarus are taking great care of the twins as they stay attached to their mom for the majority of the day, taking plenty of opportunities to nurse.
From Wikipedia:
Pygmy Slow Loris (Nycticebus pygmaeus) is a rare species of loris found in the tropical dry forests of Vietnam, Laos, China, and east of the Mekong River in Cambodia. This primate is a nocturnal animal and will eat fruit, insects, small mammals and reptiles, flowers, tree gums, fungi, slugs and snails.
It is arboreal, crawling on branches, unnoticed as it quietly moves through the thick leaves of the subtropics. It lives together in small groups usually with 1-2 offspring.
Adults can grow to around 18–21cm long[3] and have virtually no tail. They weigh about 1 pound (450 grams)
It mates once every 12–18 months and will have 1–2 offspring after an average gestation period of 190 days. For the first few days, the young loris clings to belly of its mother. After 9 months the baby will be weaned and at that point the females will be at sexual maturity while the male reaches maturity between 17 to 20 months.
This loris was nearly wiped out during extensive burning, clearing and defoliating of forests in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Extensive hunting for traditional medicines is currently putting severe pressure on Cambodian populations.
It may be awhile before the happy family is available for public viewing as Moddy Gardens is in the process of building them a new habitat.
Information from Moody Gardens:
Visitors will be able to see both the parents and the twins in the Rainforest Pyramid once the $25 million enhancement project is completed in May 2011. The mother normally nurses her young until they reach approximately nine-months-old. Until then, the attentive mother will continue to pamper her kids behind the scenes. For information, visit moodygardens.org or call 800-582-4673.
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