Tzatziki

This past week we have been extra-attentive towards one particular slow loris. His name is Tzatziki, son of Tereh and Alomah. As a result of some recent family drama, Tzatziki is dispersing earlier than usual! Therefore, we are following Tzatziki’s journey to make sure he safe and to learn what area he chooses for his own.

Rival Males

Tatziki is a young male, age about a year and a half, who has always stayed close to his mother and father. Sadly, Alomah recently passed away. We are not positive as to why or how this happened, but one theory is that one of two rival males may have tried to “take over” Alomah’s home range and family. One male is Fernando, an adult we have been following regularly. The other is an un-collared adult we have never followed before.  Around the time of Alomah’s death, we observed both males moving into Tereh and Alomah’s home ranges. 

Tzatziki’s Response

As a juvenile male, and the oldest of his siblings, Tzatziki may have been pushed out of his home range by the two new males. As a result, he has been traveling extensively, trying to find a new place to call home. 

Tzatziki’s Journey

First, Tzatziki moved to a place closer to the village we live in, Cipaganti. There was bamboo to sleep in, but not a lot of food to eat and there were too many people! Therefore, Tzatziki tried a new place. His second place was close to a big river, and had extremely thick patches of bamboo and kaliandra merah. This seemed like a great place from our point of view. But Tzatziki clearly did not agree, and therefore decided to move again. This time to an area with many potato and carrot farms. But alas, there was not enough tree connectivity, which is vital for a good slow loris home range. Without connectivity, Tzatziki would have to walk on the ground, which can be very dangerous for arboreal animals like slow lorises.

Still on the Move

Consequently, Tzatziki is off again, moving farther up the mountain, and closer to a patch of thick forest that is at the top. Therefore, we will follow Tzatziki every step of the way too see where he ends up! ELLA BROWN