The Bangka slow loris still lives on Indonesia’s Bangka Island. This small animal is venomous, meaning it can deliver poison. Scientists feared it had died out, but local people still knew it was there. The last scientific report before this long gap came around 1937.
In 2015, an international list described the animal as very close to dying out, and perhaps already gone. For the new study, researchers examined more than 90 animals from a local rescue center called Alobi. People called the center after finding them near homes, roads, and farms. Rescue records showed the animals across all four areas of the island.
The animals still face many dangers. Power lines burned seven rescued animals in 2021, and cars, dogs, and fences hurt others. At least three died. Between 2000 and 2012, the animals lost 62% of their forest home on the island.
Illegal mining for tin and clearing land to grow oil palms have reduced their forest home. Since 2015, Alobi has returned 86 animals to protected forests after they got better. Researchers want stronger forest protection, checks on animals after their return, and a program to help them have young in human care. They also want the international list to stop calling the animal possibly gone.
