Slow lorises are having their teeth ripped out — and social media is to blame

Is any photo really worth this?

A palm-sized endangered animal is held down, its mouth forced open, and its teeth pulled out — without anesthesia. Every moment of that pain belongs to the small creature alone.

One of the forces driving this cruelty is social media. A video of someone tickling the animal went viral worldwide, triggering a wave of responses from people saying they wanted one as a pet.

When it emerged that the animals could deliver venom through a bite during illegal trading, sellers began pulling and cutting out their teeth without hesitation.

These are the animals losing their teeth — alive — because of social media. Once their teeth are gone, they struggle to find food, and many die from bleeding or infection caused by the removal itself.

The animal at the center of this crisis is the slow loris, a primate known for its large eyes, round face and unhurried movements.

Its endearing appearance once made it an internet sensation. But that very popularity has led many individuals to a brutal end.

International Animal Rescue (IAR) released the findings of a long-term investigation into the illegal slow loris trade in Indonesia this past April, conducted by its local partner YIARI. The results showed that at least 4,100 slow lorises were offered for sale online over the 10-year period from 2012.

One of the key reasons slow lorises became so sought after was a social media video. Posted online in 2009, the clip — widely known as the "Tickling Slow Loris" video — became a global sensation.

In the video, a slow loris raises both arms above its head as a person touches it, appearing to enjoy being tickled. The clip's popularity exploded, with views on the main upload approaching 10 million.

As the video spread, demand for slow lorises as pets emerged around the world and the number of sellers grew. In the illegal trade that followed, dealers began removing the animals' teeth without anesthesia, using pliers and similar tools.

The teeth are removed because of the animal's venom. Slow lorises mix a secretion from glands on the inside of their arms with saliva, then deliver it through a bite with their sharp teeth. Sellers remove the teeth in advance to reduce the risk of injury to humans during trading and handling.

A slow loris's front teeth serve not only as a means of delivering venom but also as an essential survival tool for finding food. In the wild, the animals bore into trees to feed on sap and other plant secretions. Individuals that have had their teeth removed during the trade struggle to eat normally and, even after being rescued, are rarely able to return to the wild.

The famous viral video is directly connected to this problem. In the clip that made slow lorises a sensation, the animal appeared to be enjoying the tickling. But raising its arms above its head is in fact a well-documented defensive posture — a response to feeling threatened. The position makes it easier for the animal to bring its mouth to the venom glands on the inside of its arms.

What looked like delight to human viewers may actually have been the slow loris trying to defend itself.

The most serious concern is that slow lorises are endangered animals protected under international law. Since 2007, all species have been listed under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which imposes the strictest limits on international trade — effectively prohibiting the commercial export of wild-caught individuals.

Yet the popularity fueled by social media stoked demand for them as pets, and illegal international trade continued. That demand was not confined to countries near their natural habitat. Japan has been identified as one of the leading consumer nations.

A study published in the Asian Primates Journal in 2015 documented a survey of the slow loris trade in Japan conducted over roughly two months in 2014.

The researchers identified 114 slow lorises appearing to be kept as pets across 93 Japanese online videos. A further 74 were found on sale at 20 pet shops. Prices reached as high as 10 million won ($7,470), placing them firmly in the category of high-end "pets."

South Korea has not been immune. In 2016, the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency caught 15 individuals — including dealers — who had smuggled slow lorises and other internationally protected endangered species into the country for sale or commercial use. The animals had been brought in illegally from Thailand and other countries and were reportedly sold to animal cafes and private zoos.

They were even used in so-called "rare animal experience classes" that traveled to kindergartens and daycare centers. Operators reportedly charged 200,000 won per hour to let children handle the wild animals directly.

The situation is not entirely without hope. Sustained enforcement, rescue operations and public education campaigns in Indonesia have significantly reduced the open trading of slow lorises compared with the past.

In their report released this year, IAR and YIARI said the decline in illegal trade was "the result of combining law enforcement, the operation of rescue centers, and ongoing public education." But the lives of animals already harmed have not been restored.

According to YIARI's conservation report, 91 slow lorises were being cared for at rehabilitation facilities in 2024. Of those, 81 could not be returned to the wild due to health problems, including tooth removal.

The very act of pulling out their teeth to make them sellable has become the barrier preventing their return to the wild even after rescue.

While open trading has declined, online trade persists in increasingly covert forms. Monitoring data from Indonesian wildlife group Garda Animalia showed that online sale listings for five threatened animal groups — including slow lorises — increased between 2020 and 2025.

The use of slow lorises as props for tourist photo opportunities has not disappeared either. Thai wildlife protection group Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT) said that in late 2024, cases of slow lorises being used for tourist photos in Phuket and other locations surged again.

The broader problem is that the consumption of wild animals as "cute pets" on social media does not stop with slow lorises. In the United States, videos presenting primates as pets have been gaining traction on social media platforms, leading to actual sales.

A report released in May by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and other organizations found that a six-week survey of Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube in the United States in 2025 identified 1,614 live primates offered for sale across 1,131 posts.

The researchers said social media does more than simply provide a marketplace for buying and selling wild animals — it can make them appear to be normal pets, actively generating demand. The report cited the "Tickling Slow Loris" video as a prime example, explaining that content showing wild primates living alongside humans can stoke the desire to own one.

WWF and IFAW urged the public not to buy primates as pets, and not to like or share social media posts featuring them as pets. Such actions, they warned, amplify the reach of those posts and risk normalizing the consumption of wild animals such as slow lorises.