Stayin’ Alive
It’s been a while since I posted, mainly due to a convergence of conferences, work and grant writing. Not that the grant writing crunch is over yet, but I have to take a break, and prove I am still alive.
Not only am I still alive, but apparently the Horton Plains slender Loris is still alive too. A small primate which was classified as endangered by the IUCN sixty years ago, and is endemic to Sri Lanka. It was seen only four times since 1937, and was thought to be extinct as it was not observed between 1939 and 2002. Observed in 2002, but no pictures were taken. Living in the forest, the main cause for its endangerment is habitat destruction — logging, etc. Today, the Zoological Society of London published the first photographs ever of this little elusive fella. They also captured it briefly, and measured it before releasing it back.
I hope my disappearing act would be shorter that 60 years, and that the Loris will become more visible and numerous quickly enough. In the meantime, I am leaving you with these pictures.
Saman Gamage, James T. Reardon, U.K.G.K. Padmalal, & S.W. Kotagama1 (2010). First physical examination of the Horton Plains slender loris, Loris tardigradus nycticeboides, in 72 years
Primate Conservation, 25
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