A History of Primate Reintroduction Benjamin B. Beck Scientist Emeritus, Smithonian Conservation Biology Institute © 2017 Pygmy Loris (Nycticebus pygmaeus). The Endangered Species Rescue Center in Cuc Phuong National Park, Vietnam, released nine confiscated and rehabilitated adult pygmy lorises between 2000 and 2002.The purposes of the release were to study reintroduction methodology for this species and to reduce the sanctuary population. It appears that each loris was released alone, but all were released in a 1,200-ha former botanical garden near the national park. The animals had been medically screened and quarantined. Five of the lorises were radiocollared. The lorises were acclimated in their home cages at the release site for several days before release. Food was provided after release for as long as the animals returned to the release area. The lorises were monitored until they died or disappeared. One was monitored for 134 days. Two of the lorises were killed by predators, two died of other causes, e.g. starvation, and the others disappeared, presumably deep into the national park. Data on ranging, feeding, and social behavior were collected. Streicher (2004b) refers to at least 35 pygmy lorises, probably many more, having been released previously in North Vietnam without adherence to guidelines and without documentation. Research, Welfare (Rehabilitation). Kenyon, M., Streicher, U., Loung, H., Tran, T., Tran, M., Vo, B., and A. Cronin. 2014. Survival of released pygmy slow loris Nycticebus pygmaeus in South Vietnam. Endangered Species Research 25, 185-95. Streicher, U. 2004a. Pygmy lorises re-introduction study in Vietnam. Reintro Redux 1, 5-10. Streicher, U. 2004b. Aspects of ecology and conservation of the pygmy loris Nycticebus pygmaeus in Vietnam. PhD Thesis, Ludwig-Maximilians Universität München. Streciher, U., and T. Nadler. 2003. Re-introduction of pygmy lorises in Vietnam. Re- introduction News 23, 37-40. ** Pygmy Loris (Nycticebus pygmaeus). The Dao Tien Endangered Primate Species Rescue Centre in Vietnam’s Cat Tien National Park released a total of 13 confiscated and rehabilitated adult pygmy lorises in Cat Tien and in the Vinh Cuu Biosphere Reserve in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. Both areas are part of the 969,993-ha Dong Nai Biosphere Reserve in South Vietnam. A habitat assessment was conducted 1 before the release; wild lorises were present at the release sites. The lorises underwent veterinary screening and quarantine at the rescue center. Some of them were deemed unfit for release, mainly because of clipped teeth, which is a common practice for pet lorises. Each of the lorises was radiocollared. Pre-release preparation, acclimation, and post-release support were varied experimentally. Some of the lorises lived in large, naturalistic enclosures at the center for a month. Some of the lorises were acclimated at the release site for days or months. Some were provided with food after release for as long as one month. Others received no post-release support. The lorises were monitored for up to 73 days after release. Four of the lorises survived for at least two months, until monitoring was discontinued. Four were killed by predators, three disappeared, one died of hyperthermia, and one was rescued and returned to captivity. The four survivors had been acclimated at the release site and had been given supplemental food after release. The authors conclude that “soft releases” were most successful for this species. Welfare (Rehabilitation), Research Kenyon, M., Streicher, U., Loung, H., Tran, T., Tran, M., Vo, B., and A. Cronin. 2014. Survival of released pygmy slow loris Nycticebus pygmaeus in South Vietnam. Endangered Species Research 25, 185-95. www.go-east.org ** Slow Loris (Nycticebus coucang [menagensis]). The International Animal Rescue program has released an unspecified number of slow lorises in Kalimantan, Borneo. I was not able to find additional details of these releases, but purposes and procedures can be inferred to be similar to those used by International Animal Rescue to release lorises in Sumatra and Java (see below). There was post-release monitoring of survival. Data on post-release ranging and habitat use were collected on an unspecified six of a total of 50 slow lorises that were released in Java, Sumatra, and Borneo between 2011 and 2015. As noted, International Animal Rescue has released slow lorises at sites in Borneo, Sumatra, and Java between 2010 and 2015. In many cases, the methodology appears to have been similar. Some of these releases are described together in sources and publications. Even assuming that these are all one species (some would disagree and assign different species names), they are considered to be different programs in this history because the same species was released by the same organization in different and distant geographical areas. Conservation (Reinforcement), Welfare (Rehabilitation), Research 2 Robithoful, H., Rattel, C., Anirudh, N. B., and K.L. Sanchez. 2016. Systematic reintroductions of Javan (N. javanicus), Sumatran (N. coucang) and Bornean (N. menagensis) slow lorises rescued from the illegal pet trade in Indonesia. Abstract of a paper presented at the joint meeting of the 26th Congress of the International Primatological Society and the 39th Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists, Chicago, IL, USA. www.internationalanimalrescue.org ** Slow Loris (Nycticebus coucang). The Pusat Penyelamatan rehabilitation sanctuary released seven confiscated wild-born lorises into the 11,000-ha Batuegi Special Reserve in Sumatra in 2007. There were two groups. One was an adult female and two juveniles and the other was an adult female with three juveniles. Lorises were known to be present in the reserve but at low densities. The lorises were provided with natural foods and substrates in the center’s enclosures before release and received medical examinations. They were studied intensively before release to ensure that they displayed natural behaviors. The lorises were acclimated in an enclosure at the release site and were monitored for one night after release. Welfare (Rehabilitation) Collins, R. and K. A. I. Nekaris. 2008. Release of greater slow lorises, confiscated from the pet trade, to Batuegi Protected Forest, Sumatra, Indonesia. In P.S. Soorae, ed. Global Re-introduction Perspectives: Re-introduction Case-Studies from Around the Globe, pp. 192-196. IUCN/SSC Re-introduction Specialist Group, Abu Dhabi, UAE. ** Slow Loris (Nycticebus coucang). The International Animal Rescue program released an unspecified number of slow lorises into the 11,000-ha Batutegi Reserve in Sumatra between 2010 and 2015. Procedures and outcomes for a subsample of five (two males, three females) of these released slow lorises are described in detail in Moore et al (2014). It’s not clear if these are among the ten lorises that were released in Batuegi that are described in Robithoful et al (2016) or on the International Animal Rescue Indonesia website. The animals had been confiscated or rescued, and then placed in International Animal Rescues’s Ciapus Primate Center in West Java, Indonesia. They were given veterinary screenings and were quarantined. They also underwent a behavioral assessment. Many (approximately 85%) were judged to be physically unsuitable for reintroduction, mainly because their teeth had been extracted for the pet trade. The release procedures for these Sumatran slow lorises are not specifically described, but are assumed to be the same as those for the Javan slow lorises 3 described below. The lorises that were released were kept in “habituation” cages at the primate center, where they were presumably given some sort of pre-release preparation, and in acclimation cages at the release site in Sumatra. They were able to return to these acclimation cages after release. The lorises that were scheduled for release were fitted with radiocollars. A habitat survey was conducted at the release site. Wild lorises were present in the reserve. The releases are described as “soft”, which I infer to mean that some sort of post-release support was provided. There was post-release monitoring for at least three months. One loris survived for 146 days, at which point its radiocollar battery failed. Four other lorises died. Two of these were killed by snakes, one was killed by a raptor, and one died of unknown causes. The loris that survived had been kept in a small habituation cage, and the four that died had been kept in large habituation cages. The sample sizes are small, but this outcome was contrary to the outcome regarding habituation cage size and survival for Javan slow lorises (see below). International Animal Rescue has released slow lorises at sites in Borneo, Sumatra, and Java between 2010 and 2015 (see above and below). In many cases, the methodology appears to have been similar. Some of the releases are described together in the same sources and publications. Even assuming that these are all one species (some would disagree and assign different species names), they are considered to be different programs in this history because the same species was released by the same organization in different and distant geographical areas. Conservation (Reinforcement), Welfare (Rehabilitation), Research Moore, R. 2012. Ethics, ecology and evolution of Indonesian slow lorises (Nycticebus spp.) rescued from the pet trade. PhD. Thesis, Oxford Brookes University. Moore, R.S., Whihermonto, and K.A.I. Nekaris. 2014. Compassionate conservation, rehabilitation and translocation