Feeding
A slender loris descending a branch. Click image for larger version.
Like the other lorises, the slender loris is a solitary, nocturnal feeder. In this species, however, it appears that adult males and females sometimes forage in pairs.
Slender lorises are omnivorous, but unlike the other loris species, they depend on insects as their primary food source. They have a highly developed sense of smell, which they use to locate insect prey in the dark. In addition, they have been observed eating eggs and small vertebrates. Slender lorises also feed on plant material, including young leaves, shoots, flowers, and fruit with hard rinds.
Slender lorises can move fast if alarmed. Although they spend most of the time in the trees, they occasionally come to the ground. They catch their prey using a 'sneak, spring, and grab' method: They stalk along a branch, slowly approaching an insect or other food item. When they get close, they crouch and leap suddenly, grabbing the animal or insect with their nimble hands. As carnivores, slender lorises do not tend to be picky, with research showing that they consume every part of their prey, which may include feathers, bones and hard exoskeletons.
At the DLC, corn kernels are the slender lorises' favorite treat.