Primate Watching

Seeing this Species

 

The Greater Slow Loris is a nocturnal primate, i.e. it is active in the night. Just like a cat, slow lorises' eyes reflect a bright orange eye shine. Finding this animal requires spotlighting and very keen eyesight in the dark. When you do find a loris, please do not keep flashing the torchlight at them! Their eyes will be damaged. The slow lorises (genus Nycticebus) are also the only venomous primates. When under threat, they lick the glands on their forearms. The secretion from the glands mixed with saliva will produce a composite venom, which is then injected through bites. Even though they are generally slow-moving, slow lorises can actually act quick when catching prey such as small insects. Besides invertebrates, they also consume tree gum, fruits, leaves, and bird eggs.  Visit the Little Fireface Project by Professor Anna Nekaris for more information about the lorises!

 

Fraser's Hill, Pahang, Malaysia 

Nicknamed "The Little England of Malaysia", the colonial roots of Fraser's Hill began from the discovery of the plateau bordered by the seven hills  by its namesake, Louis James Fraser. The central point of Fraser's Hill is a small clock tower, surrounded by picturesque colonial-style buildings now conserved for post office, police station, clinic, cafés, restaurants, and hotels. Just in front of the clock tower is the Puncak Inn, where you can receive free information and maps for exploring this town.

 

The cool climate of Fraser's Hill makes primate watching a breeze. There are 8 nature trails of varying terrain and distance. I recommend the Bishop Trail (1,500 meters) because this trail is one of the most pristine. The Pine Tree Trail (5,000 meters) is the most physically challenging with steep slopes, but features a majestic view of the mountains. Most of the other trails are wide with open canopy, probably not a good spot for primates.

 

How to get there

Locally named as Bukit Fraser, Fraser's Hill is in the central region of Peninsular Malaysia in the state of Pahang. It is about two hours drive north of Kuala Lumpur. The second hour of drive follows an extremely winding road up to the top, at an average altitude of 1,200 meters. You may also catch a bus from the Pudu Raya bus terminal at Kuala Lumpur, heading towards Kuala Kubu Bharu.

 

Probability of success: ◆ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

 

Overlapping species: Long-tailed Macaque, Southern Pig-tailed Macaque, Dusky Leaf Monkey, Pale-thighed Langur, Siamang, White-handed Gibbon

 

Other sites:

Taman Negara National Park, Malaysia

 

Overlapping species: Long-tailed Macaque, Pale-thighed Langur, Siamang, White-handed Gibbon 

 

Central Catchment Nature Reserve, Singapore

Please see the page on Raffles' Banded Langur for more information on this site.

 

Overlapping species: Long-tailed Macaque, Raffles' Banded Langur