Following a report received by the “KEHATI” Public Complaints Call Center focused on Conservation and Ecosystem Care, the West Java Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BBKSDA) took two slow lorises from the residents of Kampung Pasir Honje (Batu Tumpang) RT 05/RW 05, Cibeber II Village, Leuwiliang District in Bogor Regency. The mother and baby had been found by a resident named Halim. According to Halim, he discovered the slow lorises while he was collecting bamboo near the forest.
After being kept at Halim’s house for four days, the two Javan slow lorises were evacuated by a joint team from the Bogor Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) and YIARI, our Indonesian partners, on Wednesday 28 February. Halim handed over the slow lorises to the BBKSDA Jabar after realizing that slow lorises are protected animals. “At first, I thought it was a civet, but when I got closer, I realized it wasn’t. Then I brought the animal home and a friend told me that the slow loris is a protected species. So I then reported and handed over the mother and baby pair to the BBKSDA,” he explained.
Dzulchan Andika Surya, the Forest Ecosystem Controller for the Natural Resources Conservation Division I Bogor, mentioned that the two slow lorises were first taken to the translocation cage at the Natural Resources Conservation Division I Bogor, BBKSDA. “Fortunately, the condition of the mother and baby slow loris is good, and they are still very wild. Based on observations, it is planned that they will first be evacuated temporarily to the translocation cage of the Natural Resources Conservation Division I Bogor, BBKSDA, and will be released back into the wild as soon as possible,” he stated.
The habitat of the Javan slow loris includes the borders between forests and Other Use Areas (APL) with available vegetation and food sources. Therefore, it is important for everyone, particularly the local community, if they encounter a slow loris around gardens or the border of forests and settlements, to guide the slow loris back to its habitat to avoid contact with human activities in residential areas.
Erik Riki Fadilah, a paramedic from YIARI, stated that the condition of the slow lorises found by Halim was healthy despite some minor tooth injuries in the mother. Erik also provided deworming medication to both slow lorises to prevent worm infections. The slow lorises were then due to be released into a conservation area within the jurisdiction of the Natural Resources Conservation Division I Bogor.