Social lives of adult mysore slender lorises (Loris lydekkerianus lydekkerianus)

Abstract

Despite the persistent use of the word "solitary" to describe nocturnal primate social behavior, increasing numbers of studies are revealing sophisticated levels of social interactions among nocturnal primates. This study explores the relationships among 11 adult Mysore slender lorises (Loris lydekkerianus lydekkerianus) studied over 10(1/2) months in Tamil Nadu, India. When all observations regarding dependent offspring are excluded, the animals spent on average 38% of their activity in various forms of neutral, affiliative, and agonistic behaviors. Affiliative behaviors were the most common type of social interaction, and males in general were more social than females. Low values for Cole's index (CI) of association emphasize that females rarely interacted with same-sex conspecifics, but commonly interacted with males. In turn, males also formed strong affiliative relationships with other adult males. This index also indicates that levels of affiliation are strongest among animals that share sleeping sites. The Hinde index (HI) suggests that males control proximity to females more than the reverse. A female's tolerance of multiple males in her home range and at a sleeping site may be related to high spatial variability of food resources. Such resources may constrain females with costly reproductive strategies (up to two sets of twins per annum) to a small home range. With their larger home ranges, males may be able to monopolize females by initiating social interactions, and also provide a benefit to females by contributing to parental care.

Extreme primates: Ecology and evolution of Asian lorises

“…In fact, all lorises are both social and often gregarious, sleeping in pairs or in groups of up to 8 animals (Box 3), and showing complex patterns of home range overlap. Gray slender lorises have proven to be among the most gregarious of the nocturnal primates, spending up to 38% of their time with another loris . Similarly, slow lorises spend considerable periods together.…”

“…Gray slender lorises have proven to be among the most gregarious of the nocturnal primates, spending up to 38% of their time with another loris. 49 Similarly, slow lorises spend considerable periods together. Greater slow lorises spent up to 10% of their activity budget in behaviors such as playing, grooming, and feeding together, 46 whereas Javan slow lorises spent as much as 65% of their time in spatial proximity, including body contact, with an average of 18%.…”

The Development of Small Primate Models for Aging Research

“…Prosimians have traditionally been considered solitary foragers, but this notion is the subject of increasing debate as more evidence accumulates (e.g., Gursky 2000b, 2005; Nekaris 2003a,b, 2006). Dietary breadth varies among these species but most consume significant quantities of arthropods, plant exudates, and fruit.…”

Tree Hole Utilisation by the Hairy-Eared Dwarf Lemur (Allocebus trichotis) in Analamazaotra Special Reserve

“…We counted the number of times pairs of individuals slept together and calculated Coles' index of association [Cole, 1949;Pimley et al, 2005;Nekaris, 2006]. To determine the importance of social sleeping and sleeping group size and composition (all-male, all-female or mixed), we counted the number of times each group size and type occurred divided by the total number of sleeping sites located (n = 294).…”