Venomous primate believed extinct for decades found alive in Indonesia
Local rescuers in Indonesia discovered a venomous primate thought extinct since 2015 was hiding in plain sight all along.
A paper by Austrian scientists details how a 2022 field guide first suggested this species still exists in the wild today. The Gunung Maras National Park near Muntok serves as a known habitat for these big-eyed animals on the island.
Supriatna cited unpublished research from the Alobi Wildlife Rescue Center which held significant data about the Bangka slow loris population. This information proved that the animal had never truly gone extinct despite scientific records suggesting otherwise for many years.
Over the decade ending 2025, the center saved over ninety individuals before returning eighty six back into their natural environment. Most rescues occurred because the animals wandered too close to civilization and ended up on roads or in gardens.
Benji Barca stated that conservation depends on local communities who know these species and landscapes intimately in their daily lives. A species can disappear from scientific records without disappearing from the lives of people who share its home completely.
“A species can disappear from the scientific record without disappearing from the lives of the people who share its home.”