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10 of the cutest endangered species

By: Laura Moss on Sept. 20, 2012, 5:57 p.m.

Slow loris

Photo: Lionel Mauritson/Wikimedia Commons

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Slow lorises

Despite its toxic bite and the fact that the 2007 CITES conference banned international transport of the animal, the slow loris is a prized pet, making it a target for animal traffickers. The animals are also hunted for use in traditional Asian medicine and are threatened by habitat loss due to logging. The slow loris’ endangered status varies by country, but the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists most populations as declining.

sand cat, Felis margarita

Pileated gibbon

Mexican axolotl

Black-footed ferret

Egyptian tortoise

Two sea otters float in the waters of the Elkhorn Slough

Slow lorises

Despite its toxic bite and the fact that the 2007 CITES conference banned international transport of the animal, the slow loris is a prized pet, making it a target for animal traffickers. The animals are also hunted for use in traditional Asian medicine and are threatened by habitat loss due to logging. The slow loris’ endangered status varies by country, but the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists most populations as declining.