Dietary choices by four captive slender lorises when presented with various insect life stages

02mei2012
Source: Zoo Biology, 2011, volume 30, issue 2
The slender loris is a rare, nocturnal prosimian found only in the tropical rainforest of southern India and Sri Lanka. Little is known about their diet, though it is assumed that insects comprise a majority of their wild diet.
Based on this assumption, captive lorises (Loris tardigradus) are offered a variety of insects or insect life stages; the species of insect or the life stage is often determined by what is easiest to buy or rear. Captive lorises at the Duke Lemur Center (DLC) were offered the opportunity to choose which life stage of mealworms (Tenebrio molitor), superworms (Zophobus morio), or waxworms (Galleria mellonella) they preferred. The DLC captive lorises did not select the largest life stages of any insect offered. They preferred the larvae stage to the adult stage in all three insect species, and males and females had different insect species and life stage preferences.


Title: Dietary choices by four captive slender lorises (Loris tardigradus) when presented with various insect life stages.

Authors: Clayton JB, Glander KE

Source: Zoo Biology, 2011, volume 30, issue 2