Isle of Wight Zoo welcomes rare pygmy loris twins | UK News

A zoo is celebrating the birth of rare and endangered pygmy slow loris twins.

The tiny mammals were born at Amazon World Zoo Park on the Isle of Wight, to parents Lapek and Ramina, a breeding pair in the European Endangered Species Programme.

Pygmy slow loris are a species of primate that comes from the rainforests and bamboo thickets of Vietnam, Laos, eastern Cambodia and southern China.

A spokesperson from the zoo said the team were “so excited” and “proud” to be part of the captive breeding programme.

These are the fourth pair of Loris to be born at the Zoo since the pair arrived in December 2020.

According to the Zoological Information Management System (ZIMS) they are the only ones to be born in the UK in the last 12 months, during which period only seven other zoos in Europe have bred Lorises.

They are classified as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list, as the species is estimated to have undergone a decline in its population of more than 50% over the last 24 years.

This decline is due primarily to hunting for the pet trade, food, and medicinal purposes.

They have also been affected by habitat loss from human settlements and agriculture especially cashew plantations, corn and rice paddies.

A spokesperson said: “Breeding endangered species like these Loris are what zoos like ours are all about, ensuring that there is a captive population whilst numbers struggle in the wild.”

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