The slow loris may have gained popular fame through YouTube videos in which terrified lorises grasp umbrellas, but it's actually a fascinating animal even when it's not fearing for its life. (Yep, that's what's going on in those videos: when threatened, lorises become docile and passive, which is different from being friendly. Oh, and the pet trade in lorises is brutal and horrifying, just FYI.) It's one of very few venomous mammals and even fewer venomous primates; it has a poison gland on its elbow which it licks to mix with its saliva, giving it a venomous bite. It also has a highly peculiar arrangement of blood vessels in its hands and feet, so that it can grasp branches for hours on end, supporting its own weight, without losing sensation
Born, like other comic book characters, out of an otherwise trivial but life-changing animal bite, the Rabid Librarian seeks out strange, useless facts, raves about real and perceived injustices, and seeks to meet her greatest challenge of all--her own life.
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Thursday, December 13, 2012
Aren't you glad humans don't have poison glands?
New Venomous Primate Species Discovered In Borneo
Labels:
Primates,
Slow Loris
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