Nocturnal, Arboreal And Vulnerable The Bengal Slow Loris

The Bengal slow loris Nycticebus bengalensis has a large geographic range spanning Northeast India, Myanmar, Cambodia, southern China, Laos, and Thailand, all the way to Vietnam.

- Swapna Nelaballi

We had been searching for over a week without any success. It dawned upon us that this chilly June night might not be any different. Dark clouds loomed above us. Yet, like every other night we had spent in the Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary, an area of about 195 sq. km. located in the southern part of the landlocked north-eastern hill state of Tripura, we couldn’t but be hopeful that we would look into the mesmerising, fiery red eyes of the elusive nocturnal creature that we sought. We had been trudging for hours along overgrown forest trails. As we showered light from forest floor to the canopy, spectacularly-coloured moths, glowing bugs, slithering serpents, mysterious leopard cats and seemingly-headless sleeping birds, made occasional appearances, keeping our senses alert.

My companions resorted to whistling Bollywood melodies and thunderous throat clearing to display their frustration. For my part, tired of repeating instructions to be silent, I began paying more attention to ridding myself of mosquitoes and clambering leeches. Suddenly, as is usually the way of the jungle, out of the darkness appeared the largest crimson eye shine I had ever seen. Forgetting all the rules I leapt into the air screaming, ‘Lajwanti banor! Lajwanti banor!’ (which means slow loris in the local language, Bangla) stunning the poor creature and the rest alike. Finally, there it was, all that I had been longing for – a slow loris and pin-drop silence. We gaped at the tiny ball of fur gaping back at us from the canopy for a wonderful 60 seconds before it made its way deeper into the foliage and out of our view. We went on to have eight more encounters during our short survey. They were brief, but important, as they fuelled in me a strong desire to learn more about the loris and its way of life. Thus, began the first ecological study on the elusive Bengal slow loris Nycticebus bengalensis.