Scientists Feared This Cute but Venomous Primate Had Gone Extinct Nearly 100 Years Ago. It Was Hiding in Plain Sight All Along

The Bangka slow loris is still close to extinction, but new research suggests it continues to survive on a tropical Indonesian island. Conservationists are calling for stronger habitat protections and a breeding program, among other measures. Scientists Feared This Cute but Venomous Primate Had Gone Extinct Nearly 100 Years Ago. It Was Hiding in Plain Sight All Along.

Dozens of Bangka slow lorises have been rescued and re-released on Bangka Island in recent years. © Andre Septian / Alobi Wildlife Rescue Center A small primate that scientists feared might be extinct has been making appearances across an Indonesian island, offering new hope for the elusive species. The Bangka slow loris was last officially documented by scientists in the 1930s.

As a result, in 2015, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classified the species as critically endangered—and possibly extinct—on its Red List of Threatened Species. But a new study published in October in the journal Spixiana shows the Bangka slow loris continues to survive in the wild. Scientists report that a local wildlife organization on Bangka Island, Indonesia, has rescued and re-released dozens of Bangka slow lorises in recent years.

While the species still faces many threats, the research suggests it’s not yet extinct—rather, it was simply “overlooked by science for nearly a century,” study co-author Timon Glaw, a conservation biologist at the Haus des Meeres Aqua Terra Zoo in Austria, tells Mongabay ’s Naina Rao. Based on the findings, Glaw and colleagues recommend a formal reassessment of the species’ status to remove the “possibly extinct” label.