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Four slow lorises are released on Mt Tarak, West Borneo.

7th November 2017

On 30 October, in collaboration with the Centre for Natural Resources Conservation (BKSDA), IAR’s team released four Bornean slow lorises (Nycticebus menangensis) in the area of Mount Tarak, in the hamlet of Cali,Nanga Tayap district, Ketapang. Such releases contribute to efforts to protect this endangered species from extinction.

Of the four lorises, three are female and one male. The three females are named Syelin, Shelah, and Jumi, while the male is called Krishna.

Syelin was confiscated by the BKSDA in Pontianak in July 2015 and since then has been in rehabilitation at IAR’s primate centre in Ketapang. She gave birth to Shelah on August 25, 2017.

Jumi was also confiscated by the BKSDA in Pontianak in March 2017. She was still wild and in good health.

Male Krishna was rescued from a tourist resort in Temajuk Village, Paloh District, Sambas district on April 13, 2017. He was rescued by members of IAR’s team and the BKSDA. Krishna was extremely thin and weak when he was found. He had been kept in a cage that opened out onto a tree which was lit up day and night by an electric generator so that the captive lorises were visible to guests at the resort.

After undergoing a period of less than six months’ rehabilitation, Krishna’s health started to improve steadily and he was soon deemed ready for release.

It took less than seven hours to reach the release site – five hours by road, followed by two hours on foot. The release team stopped periodically to check on the lorises and give them food.

Once at the release site the lorises were checked again – after such a long journey it was important to check their physical and psychological condition, particularly as slow lorises are very susceptible to stress. At about 3:15pm IAR’s animal keepers and the team from the BKSDA released the slow lorises one by one at a point that had been previously determined.

One of the four lorises – Syelin – was fitted with a radio collar so that she could be monitored and the team could gather data on the condition and behaviour of the lorises post-release.

“Since being rescued, the four protected primates have been restored to health and completed a period of rehabilitation at our centre in Ketapang, West Borneo,” said IAR Chief Executive Alan Knight OBE. “We are confident that they will adapt well and soon regain their wild instincts as Mt Tarak is a well-preserved ecosystem with an abundance of natural food in the area.”