Behind this cute animal hides the world's only venomous mammal… and it's formidable. – Futura

Among all primates, only one can produce venom: the slow loris. Belonging to the genus Nycticebus, which includes several species, this small nocturnal mammal lives high in the trees of Southeast Asia. With its large, night adapted eyes, it hunts insects and small prey after dark. Depending on the species, it measures between 8 and 15 inches in length.

This unusual trait places it in an exclusive club of venomous mammals, alongside the platypus, certain shrews, and even the European mole. Despite its wide eyed, almost teddy bear like appearance, the slow loris is fiercely territorial. When threatened, it can deliver a surprisingly powerful bite.

Before attacking, the slow loris performs an unusual ritual. It raises its arms and licks a patch beneath them, collecting an oily substance secreted by a brachial gland located near its armpit. When this secretion mixes with its saliva, it becomes a potent venom. The toxin then coats grooves in its canine teeth, ready to be injected with a sufficiently strong bite – sometimes strong enough to puncture bone.

Even more surprising, this venom is not used solely against predators. A study published in Current Biology found that out of 82 Javan slow lorises captured by researchers, nearly 20 percent showed recent wounds inflicted by other lorises. The use of venom within the same species is extremely rare in the animal kingdom.

“This very rare and strange behavior occurs in one of our closest primate relatives,” explained Anna Nekaris in an interview with The New York Times in 2020. She even compared them to the ‘killer rabbits’ from Monty Python – except these ones turn on each other.

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