So last month I saw a Javan Slow Loris for sale on the side of the road outside of a big mall in Bandung, but at the time I didn’t know what it was. The locals just called it a cus-cus, but it’s not one of those. It’s an endangered Slow Loris which is a weird-looking and cute primate! Anyway, I found out because someone posted a comment on my youtube video.
When I was in Jakarta last week, I was curious to see if I could find more of these nifty little creatures, so I went to the Pramuka Bird Market otherwise known as Pasar Burung Pramuka. At first I was told that there aren’t any monkeys or lorises in the market as it was illegal to sell them. But all of a sudden a guy popped up and wanted to show me around. So he took me to what he claimed was the only slow loris in the market at the time — all the others had been bought. It was an incredible creature, but I really didn’t like the way they treated it. They held it by the back leg so it wouldn’t run away and generally treated it roughly. I got some great shots though. Check them out.
It’s illegal to buy or sell the slow lorises, but the law is no barrier in Indonesia. So they offered it to me for $100 and when I had a startled look on my face (I couldn’t believe it was that cheap!), he laughed hard and told me to negotiate. In other words, he was trying to rip me off by charging $100! I could have easily got it for $50, I’d say.
Elsewhere in the market there were eagles, civet cats and animals that were a cross between a cat and a dog and very cute. I would love to have one of those, but again the issue of them being ripped from the jungles of Indonesia is concerning.
Ever wanted a slow loris? What do you think? Cute or what?