A severely injured Javan slow loris is in the care of the team at our primate centre in Bogor, West Java after being handed in to the Centre for Conservation of Natural Resources (BKSDA) in Ciamis. According to BKSDA staff, the female loris was found on a plantation by a local resident who caught her and handed her over for treatment and care.
It is likely that the loris, who has been called Hima by our team, was being kept as a pet but escaped from her captors. The team noticed immediately that she was extremely underweight and in very poor condition. She was also very nervous.
Worst of all, there was a deep, gaping wound in Hima’s abdomen and around her waist. Our veterinarian Purba Priambada said: “It’s likely that the loris had been tied up with a rope by her captor and this is what caused the terrible wound.
The rope must have been tied up really tightly and for a considerable length of time to damage the skin tissue so badly and cause such a shocking injury to Hima’s body.
The wound is very similar to one we encountered with a long-tailed macaque we rescued. The macaque had been kept as a pet and tied up tightly by a chain around its waist to a tree near the owner’s home.”
Hima is now undergoing intensive treatment at our rehabilitation centre in Bogor. Every morning, the medical team clean Hima’s wounds to prevent bacterial infections. She is given medication, antibiotics, and vitamins to boost her appetite and build up her strength.
Purba explained: “Hima’s story is a prime example of the cruelty involved in keeping slow lorises as pets. Keeping them captive causes them terrible suffering and ends with many of them dying at the hands of their captors before their lives can be saved.”