Unmonitored releases of small animals? The importance of considering natural dispersal, health, and human habituation when releasing a territorial mammal threatened by wildlife trade

Risky Business: The Function of Play in a Venomous Mammal—The Javan Slow Loris (Nycticebus javanicus)

“…Young lorises also engaged in higher rates of vertical suspension, compared to older individuals, where the center of gravity has to be held in a perpendicular line to a substrate requiring much more core strength [ 47 ]. That posture decreased as individuals aged, specifically around the time of dispersal when individuals are making larger forays from their natal range [ 35 ]. Among primates, younger individuals typically have a more diverse positional repertoire [ 48 ].…”

“…Javan slow lorises ( Nycticebus javanicus ) are nocturnal, medium-bodied (~905 g) primates that lack sexual dimorphism and live in small, family groups consisting of an adult male, an adult female, and one to four offspring. Young offspring are cared for by all members of a family group and both males and females disperse at anywhere from 18 months to just over three years [ 35 ]. From 12 months onward, slow lorises may investigate the edges of their home ranges, and as a highly territorial species, must already have the ability to fight strangers [ 11 , 32 ].…”

Aposematic signaling and seasonal variation in dorsal pelage in a venomous mammal

“…This could relate to dispersal patterns in the Javan slow loris, as animals are typically 20–33 months old upon dispersal (Poindexter & Nekaris, 2017 ; Nekaris et al, 2020 ). Dispersing animals are more likely to have severe wounds than animals inhabiting a stable territory, but animals that display a higher degree of aggression both have higher contrast face masks and are less likely to have sustained severe wounds (Campera et al., 2020 ; Nekaris et al., 2019 ). Avoiding severe wounding was significantly related to successful dispersal of animals in this same population (Campera et al., 2020 ).…”

“…Dispersing animals are more likely to have severe wounds than animals inhabiting a stable territory, but animals that display a higher degree of aggression both have higher contrast face masks and are less likely to have sustained severe wounds (Campera et al., 2020 ; Nekaris et al., 2019 ). Avoiding severe wounding was significantly related to successful dispersal of animals in this same population (Campera et al., 2020 ). This suggests that there is an adaptive benefit to signaling increased aggression by conspicuous color contrast in the face and the back.…”

Fostering a Wildlife-Friendly Program for Sustainable Coffee Farming: The Case of Small-Holder Farmers in Indonesia

“…It involves constant collaboration and consultation between the parties involved, and regular monitoring and evaluation. As groundwork for this project, we ran ecology, oral traditions, hunting practices, conservation education and agroforestry projects with support from local communities [27][28][29]. We promoted wildlife-friendly practices to a community of ~400 coffee farmers in West Java since February 2019, leading them to obtain certification from the Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network TM (WFEN) in October 2020 (Figure 1).…”