AN OXFORD Brookes University tutor will feature in a BBC documentary about a primate now under threat after a feature on YouTube made it popular as a pet.

The slow loris might look cute, but the animal is the only venomous primate in the world.

In an hour-long BBC2 documentary on Wednesday, Dr Anna Nekaris explains why the species from the Indonesian island of Java faces a threat to its existence due to the illegal pet trade.

When YouTube footage of a slow loris being kept as a pet appeared online, the creature became an instant celebrity with over 12 million hits. But fame created problems as more people now want to keep the species as a pet.

Dr Nekaris, Reader in Primate Conservation and Anthropology, said: “It is illegal to trade slow lorises as pets, and those that are often have their teeth cruelly ripped out by traders, using either nail clippers, wire cutters or pliers. Although many scientists are trying to educate people about the cruelty of keeping the creature as a pet, it remains an uphill battle.

“There is still so much we can learn about this vulnerable creature that will help with our understanding and aid primate conservation in this area.

“This is part of our wider work on primate conservation and more information is available from Brookes’ website at brookes.ac.uk/slowloris.”