Social lives of adult Mysore slender lorises (Loris lydekkerianus lydekkerianus)

Despite the persistent use of the word "solitary" to describe nocturnal primate social behavior, increasing numbers of studies are revealing sophisticated levels of social interactions among nocturnal primates. This study explores the relationships among 11 adult Mysore slender lorises (Loris lydekkerianus lydekkerianus) studied over 10(1/2) months in Tamil Nadu, India. When all observations regarding dependent offspring are excluded, the animals spent on average 38% of their activity in various forms of neutral, affiliative, and agonistic behaviors. Affiliative behaviors were the most common type of social interaction, and males in general were more social than females. Low values for Cole's index (CI) of association emphasize that females rarely interacted with same-sex conspecifics, but commonly interacted with males. In turn, males also formed strong affiliative relationships with other adult males. This index also indicates that levels of affiliation are strongest among animals that share sleeping sites. The Hinde index (HI) suggests that males control proximity to females more than the reverse. A female's tolerance of multiple males in her home range and at a sleeping site may be related to high spatial variability of food resources. Such resources may constrain females with costly reproductive strategies (up to two sets of twins per annum) to a small home range. With their larger home ranges, males may be able to monopolize females by initiating social interactions, and also provide a benefit to females by contributing to parental care.