This tiny pygmy slow loris baby was recently born at the Bronx Zoo, weighing only 1 to 2 ounces. The zoo just released adorable footage of the endangered baby learning to climb.

Baby Pygmy Slow Loris Learns to Climb

Though this species produces tiny babies, even as adults they’re only approximately 6 to 10 inches long and weigh 0.7 to 1 pound. Typically carried around by their mothers for a time until they become more independent, these baby animals can often be found “parked” on branches as their parents forage for food.

One of only a few known venomous mammals, they fill specially adapted grooves in their teeth with venom by licking a gland in their upper arm and mixing that with enzymes in their saliva. Though their bite is only painful and isn’t typically dangerous to humans, it can induce anaphylactic shock in rare instances.

Two species of pygmy slow loris are currently recognized by the IUCN: the northern pygmy loris (Xanthonycticebus intermedius) and the southern pygmy loris (Xanthonycticebus pygmaeus). Split apart in 2023, the southern pygmy loris species lives in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, and the northern pygmy loris species lives in Vietnam, Laos, and parts of China.

Based on scientific and anecdotal reports, researchers determined that the two populations were distinct, with differences in DNA, skull, and jaw structure.

Both species are listed as endangered due to varying threats. For example, the southern pygmy loris is exploited for traditional medicine, pet trade, and food. Some pet trade dealers also try to breed the northern and southern species together, resulting in non-fertile hybrids.

This latest arrival at the Bronx Zoo marks the first primate to be born in the zoo’s World of Darkness exhibit, as part of a breeding program that aims to maintain the genetic diversity of pygmy slow lorises.