Story, video, and behind the scenes photos:
Millions of people enjoy watching, sharing and making videos about slow lorises. They copy each
other, looking for likes, without realizing what they are doing.
Millions of people enjoy watching, sharing and making videos about slow lorises. They copy each
other, looking for likes, without realizing what they are doing.
In this PSA video
for NGO Freeland my character wanted to use slow loris to impress her fans, but something unexpected happened...
for NGO Freeland my character wanted to use slow loris to impress her fans, but something unexpected happened...
Slow Lorises Are Not Pets
Exotic animals belong in the wild, not in your home! Share and help #FreeLoris
Posted by Freeland on Wednesday, 18 November 2015
Just a few people understand that Slow Lorises are not pets. They are the world's only poisonous primates - their bite is toxic and causes severe injuries and pain, they are not meant to be and don't want to be our friends/pets. Traders cruelly clip or rip out their sharp teeth with pliers or nail cutters, and although slow lorises still want to bite everyone, they can't break human's skin without sharp teeth.
Bella - my partner was bought as a pet a few years ago, and then abandoned. Because - slow lorises aren't pets! They aren't cutie-pies, they are difficult to care for, nocturnal, shy "things-in-itself", with their own "slow" rhythm that doesn't fit ours, and don't need us as their owners.
No one was interested in these creatures, few have ever heard of them, until they became a youtube sensation, with millions of views, now this animal is quickly moving from endangered to extinct. Internet popularity created a high demand for them as ‘status symbol’ pets, especially there were many videos in Russian speaking countries, that's why the video is in Russian. I hope that this PSA will increase awareness, and I really like, that this serious message is delivered in a funny way.
I was asked many times if people who buy lorises know that it's illegal to buy/trade them? I guess, some people just don't care.... They mostly think - that it's cool to have something special, and if you say it's bad or illegal, then something "forbidden" is even more attractive. Other people don't realize that buying trafficked animals means participating in animal trafficking. They think - if they didn't "catch" it in the wild, but just "buy" a new friend - they are not doing anything wrong. They don't even care to check - that slow lorises are impossible to breed in captivity, almost never they born even in the zoos, so all the lorises that are sold - are kidnapped from the jungle.
***
Мало кто интересовался лори, до того как он стал YouTube-сенсацией. Восхитившись, многие зрители захотели, чтобы у них дома тоже появился милый, пушистый друг с “большими глазами, как у котика из Шрека”. Особенно модным лори стал в русскоговорящих странах, поэтому клип - на русском языке.***
Лори - исчезающий вид приматов. Они редко размножаются в неволе, так что те лори, которых можно купить обычно “похищены” из джунглей Юго-Восточной Азии. Укус лори - ядовит, перед продажей им выдирают острые клыки. Правда, лори все равно продолжают выделять парализующий яд, но без клыков не могут укусить глубоко.
Со мной снимался настоящий маленький (ядовитый) Лори. Его купили несколько лет назад, но лори в доме оказался не плюшевым радостным чудом, не экзотическим котиком, а диким зверем: неприветливым, отстраненным, неудобным. Хозяева отказались от него и отправили в питомник.
В ролике Freeland Foundation моя героиня тоже хотела воспользоваться маленьким лори, чтобы удивить и развлечь свою аудиторию....
on set
learn about slow loris, while going on the bus..
A phone interview to Thai TV Channel (july 2016):
(starting from minute 9:)
(starting from minute 9:)
Photos from the shooting day:
