Most primates stick to the basics when it comes to self-defense. They bite, they scratch, they throw things, or they run away screaming. But there's one small, nocturnal primate lurking in tropical forests that took a completely different evolutionary path. While it looks like something you'd win at a carnival, this little guy developed the ability to deliver a bite that can literally kill you. What's the only venomous primate in the world?
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Correct Answer: Slow loris
(Source)The slow loris earned its spot as the world's only venomous primate through one of nature's weirdest delivery systems. When threatened, these fuzzy little guys raise their arms to access a special gland tucked under their armpit that produces a toxic secretion. They lick this gland and mix the toxin with their saliva to create a potentially deadly bite. Recent research revealed that slow lorises mostly save their venom for each other. Scientists studying wild lorises in Java found that 20 percent had fresh bite wounds from other lorises, proving they're viciously territorial when it comes to mates and food sources. The venom packs enough punch to kill small mammals and can send humans into anaphylactic shock. And no, this isn't something deodorant can fix.
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