The conservation of slow lorises, nocturnal primates in the rain forests of South and Southeast Asia, faces threats from deforestation, the exotic pet trade, traditional medicine, and the bushmeat trade. Five species of slow loris are listed as either "Vulnerable" or "Endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Their conservation status was originally listed as "Least Concern" in 2000 because of imprecise population surveys and the frequency in which these primates were found in animal markets. Because of their rapidly declining populations and local extinctions, their status was updated and in 2007 the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) elevated them to Appendix I, which prohibits international commercial trade. Local laws also protect slow lorises, but enforcement is lacking in most areas. Slow lorises are regularly smuggled and sold as exotic pets in Japan, the United States, and Europe. Their popularity is largely due to their "cute" appearance and highly viewed pet videos on YouTube.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_of_slow_lorises
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1918:
Polish troops and civilians began a three-day pogrom against Jews and Ukrainian Christians in Lwów (now Lviv, Ukraine). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lw%C3%B3w_pogrom_(1918)
1950:
Two trains collided near Valemount, British Columbia, Canada; the subsequent trial catapulted future Prime Minister of Canada John Diefenbaker into the political limelight. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canoe_River_train_crash
1974:
Explosives placed in two central pubs in Birmingham, England, killed 21 people and injured 182 others, and eventually led to the arrest and imprisonment of six people who were later exonerated. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham_pub_bombings
1980:
Over 83 million people watched the Dallas TV episode "Who Done It" to find out "Who shot J. R.?". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Done_It_(Dallas)
2009:
An explosion in a coal mine in Heilongjiang, China, killed 108 miners. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Heilongjiang_mine_explosion
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
koine: 1. A lingua franca. 2. A regional language that becomes standard over time. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/koine
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
The principles of terrorism unavoidably rebound to the fatal injury of liberty and revolution. Absolute power corrupts and defeats its partisans no less than its opponents. A people that knows not liberty becomes accustomed to dictatorship: fighting despotism and counter- revolution, terrorism itself becomes their efficient school. Once on the road of terrorism, the State necessarily becomes estranged from the people. --Alexander Berkman https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alexander_Berkman