What perils does the loris face today? This poor captive loris at a zoo I visited in South-East Asia, demonstrates one of the main reasons for their decline: they are very cute. This means people want to see them, interact with them, and even keep them as pets.

Unfortunately, just like the dolphins "smile" that makes them always look happy, the loris' wide eyes and markings look undeniably cute and innocent, only making them more desirable.

This photo from pop singer Rihanna's Twitter feed, shows another use for lorises: as photo props in busy tourist areas such as Phuket, Thailand. Pay a small fee and you can interact with these animals and take photos.

As well as irresponsible, this also happens to be illegal in Thailand, and the authorities arrested the street vendor responsible.

So what is the reality behind these situations?

Owning exotic pets might be a source of pride for the owner, but it is tragic for the exotic animal, which by definition doesn't belong in that environment.

The popularity of this YouTube video (from which this screenshot was taken) shows how much people enjoy lorises. They may enjoy it less if they knew how stressed this animal is, and that this poor creature didn't come from a "loris nursery" as claimed.