Rare Venomous Bangka Slow Loris Rediscovered After Decades of Scientific Neglect

Key facts

• The Bangka slow loris, scientifically named Nycticebus bancanus, was last scientifically documented in the 1930s and was listed as critically endangered and possibly extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2020.
• Between 2015 and 2025, the Alobi Wildlife Rescue Center documented over 90 Bangka slow lorises across the island, with 86 of them being released into suitable natural habitats.
• The Bangka slow loris is a venomous primate that produces a secretion from specialized glands near its elbows, which is delivered through a bite.
• The species' habitat on the island of Bangka is diminished due to tin mining and land clearing for oil palm plantations.
• In the primate evolutionary lineage, the Bangka slow loris is more closely related to the lemurs of Madagascar and the galagos of Africa than to monkeys or apes.