Mammalian activity budgets are directly linked to an animal’s metabolism and energy requirements, which may change with the seasons and throughout an individual’s life span (Halle and Stenseth, 2000). Comparisons of activity patterns, including locomotor patterns under different ecological conditions, allow for exploration of ecological influences on animal behaviour and consequently in behavioural strategies (Onderdonk and Chapman, 2000; Warren and Crompton, 1998). Measures of group size, life history and activity budget, including locomotion and positional behaviour, are considered crucial for conservation management and hypothesis testing in behavioural ecology.

The pygmy slow (hereafter pygmy) loris is endemic to Vietnam, Laos, southern China and eastern Cambodia (Brandon-Jones et al., 2004). The species is threatened by heavy exploitation for traditional medicine, pets (Nekaris et al., 2010b; Starr et al., 2010) and habitat loss (Streicher et al., 2008b). The first intensive field study of a wild population of pygmy loris occurred from 2008 to 2009 (Starr, 2011a; Starr and Nekaris, 2013; Starr et al., 2012a, 2012b), and only preliminary field surveys of wild populations had been conducted prior in Cambodia (Starr et al., 2011), Vietnam (Fitch-Snyder and Thanh, 2002; Tan, 1994) and Laos (Duckworth, 1994; Evans et al., 2000). Much of our knowledge of this species and decision-making about their conservation had come from knowledge gained in zoos (e.g. Fisher et al., 2003b; Fitch-Snyder and Ehrlich, 2003; Fitch-Snyder and Jurke, 2003; Jurke et al., 1997, 1998), or captive animals from trade (Streicher, 2003, 2004; Streicher and Nadler, 2003).

Nocturnal animals are difficult to see and follow, especially in dense rainforest conditions. Nocturnal research is fraught with difficulties not encountered by individuals who study animals in the day, from the need for expensive equipment, constant access to power supplies to run lights and potential for increased encounters with dangerous wildlife. The main drawback of nocturnal fieldwork is that it is simply more difficult to find and continuously observe an animal at night. Through hard work and perseverance it is possible to obtain ecological data on lorises and pottos in the absence of radio tracking (e.g. Das et al., 2014; Nekaris, 2001; Pliosungnoen et al., 2010). Much more detail can be obtained, however, through capturing, measuring, collaring and monitoring nocturnal primates. The essential nature of radio tracking for the study of the behaviour and ecology of nocturnal primates has been recognised since the 1970s (e.g. Charles-Dominique, 1977a; Charles-Dominique and Bearder, 1979), and is by most researchers considered a must for thorough research (Sterling et al., 2000). Radio-tracking studies of lorises and pottos remain limited (2000; Millspaugh and Marzluff, 2001). In this chapter, we review the methods for trapping and collaring slow lorises and pottos, as well as provide a case study of the importance of red light for observing their behaviour in a humane and productive manner (see Box 24.1).

Social organisation is made up of three aspects: an animal’s social system, spacing system and mating system (Sterling, 1993). Social systems are the patterns of intragroup relationships; mating systems describe reproductive interactions; and spacing systems describe their spatiotemporal distribution (Müller, 1999) (1978, Charles-Dominique already tried to allay the misconception of labelling nocturnal strepsirrhines as ‘solitary’ since they maintain social networks through vocal and olfactory communication and regularly meet at night, even though they do not forage in groups. Müller (1999) suggested several terms (gregarious, dispersed, spatial or promiscuous) to describe animals living within cohesive groups or solitary animals with social networks. The levels of home range overlap, social interactions and sleeping associations were used to determine the social organisation of these species.

Animals that are small, cryptic, nocturnal and arboreal are difficult to survey with accuracy. The relative neglect of elusive species is partly due to the additional time, money and effort required to undertake successful studies. This is likely to have contributed to the lorisiforms being named the ‘least known of all the primates’ (Nekaris and Bearder, 2011). Prior to the 1990s, few data existed on the distribution and abundance of slender lorises (Loris spp.), leading to their being listed by the IUCN Red List as Least Concern or Data Deficient. The first contemporary surveys of the distribution of Loris led to identification of one new species and the uncovering of low densities that elevated their threat level (Nekaris and Jayewardene, 2004a; Singh et al., 1999, 2000). Abundance estimates found that slender lorises are patchily distributed, even within a single forest reserve, and despite significant survey efforts some forest patches yielded no sightings (Nekaris and Jayewardene, 2004a). The heterogeneous distribution of Loris has been documented (Kumara et al., 2006; Nekaris and Jayewardene, 2004a; Nekaris et al 2013c; Singh et al., 1999). Encounter rates vary by location, habitat and species (2008). While a number of Loris surveys have now been conducted, the sites, survey modes, sampling techniques and data recorded vary across studies; consequently, results are not directly comparable (Table 26.1).

The Internet has revolutionised our lives, transforming the way in which we communicate and carry out business (IFAW, 2005). As a result of the development of the Internet and ultimately social networking sites (SNS), biodiversity conservation is facing new threats. Wildlife trade and online exotic pet trade is flourishing due to the provision of a medium via which illegal trade can occur more easily and discreetly (Creamer and Philips, 2005; Engler and Parry-Jones, 2007; IFAW, 2005; Morgan, 2015). At the same time, wildlife tourism is becoming increasingly popular. Wildlife tourism attractions make up an estimated 20–40 per cent of the global tourism industry, drawing in approximately 110 million people annually; yet 80 per cent of participants are unable to recognise the negative impacts on animal welfare (World Animal Protection, 2016). Many Westerners who contribute substantially to wildlife tourism live in relative isolation from nature and wild animals. Consequently, interaction with wildlife is considered a vital part of their modern tourism experiences (Cohen, 2009).

This book started as a conversation in New Orleans back in 2016. A morphologist and a primatologist were sitting at the American Association of Physical Anthropologists annual meeting, bemoaning the scant presentations on lorises (slow lorises, slender lorises, angwantibos and pottos) relative to galagos, lemurs, monkeys and apes. Not only where were the talks on these primates, but where were the books on lorisids? After a few minutes of this talk, we decided it was time to see to it ourselves. Using a cocktail napkin and later a more respectable legal pad, we started sketching out what we would each want to see in a collected, edited volume devoted to what we know about lorises, some of the least understood primates living today. What resulted from that afternoon in a New Orleans bar is this edited volume. The scope is intentionally broad and is primarily divided into sections on evolution and morphology, behaviour and conservation. We also purposefully focused on soliciting short contributions, set as boxes within the text, from young authors doing fieldwork in Asian range countries, places where scientific study and conservation efforts on Loris and Nycticebus, the Asian lorises, is producing previously unknown data on population density and specific challenges to conservation efforts.

Inspiring people to value their local wildlife is vital to promoting the conservation of native fauna (Padua, 2010; Savage et al., 2010). Conservation education has historically tended to focus on enhancing people’s knowledge about animals and the threats to their survival as a means of promoting pro-conservation behaviours. Educators have identified that people need both factual knowledge and an emotional affinity for animals as precursors to developing positive attitudes and behaviours towards them (Cheng and Monroe, 2012; Jacobson, 2010; Kuhar et al., 2010). There is a growing recognition that initiatives using positive messages to highlight nature’s positive aspects are more inspiring than negative communication about loss of species that can instead make people feel helpless (IUCN-CEC, 2010). A key component to inspiring people to care for wildlife is building empathy and pride (McCauley, 2006; van der Ploeg et al., 2011).

Direct observations are the main method employed to collect animal behaviours, although providing reliable data for wild animals is frequently challenging (Brown et al., 2013). In fact, direct observations require a habituation period that varies depending on the species and may last for years (Crofoot et al., 2010; Jack et al., 2008). The observer is rarely undetectable, and even habituated animals may still change their natural behaviour in latent ways (Caine, 1990). Direct observations are also biased by inter-subject methodological differences (Altmann, 1974). Furthermore, many animal species are cryptic and the amount of data collectable via behavioural observations may be very limited (Chimienti et al., 2016).

Social media is a phenomenon that offers a host of challenges and opportunities for conservationists. The sector is rapidly evolving, with an increasing variety of platforms and social networking sites (SNS) that gain and lose popularity at unprecedented rates (Livingstone and Brake, 2010). These sites are frequently used to spread images of animals and this has a potentially devastating impact on species conservation, particularly with respect to charismatic mammals such as Lorisiformes (Vázquez et al., 2016).