Caught on camera for the first time - the elusive slender lauris

One of the rarest primates in the world, which was so elusive it was thought to have become extinct, has been caught on camera for the first time, researchers said today.

The Horton Plains slender loris had only been seen four times since 1937 and vanished between 1939 and 2002, leading scientists to believe the wide-eyed mammal had died out completely.

Researchers from the Zoological Society of London's (ZSL) edge of existence programme, who spent more than 200 hours looking for signs of the nocturnal primate in the mountain forest of central Sri Lanka, said they were "thrilled" to have photographed it.

The picture of the endangered mammal shows an adult male Horton Plains slender loris, characterised by short limbs and long dense fur, sitting on a forest branch.

The sub-species of slender loris has shorter and sturdier fore and hind limbs than those of any other loris in either Sri Lanka or southern India, showing how the mammal has adapted to living in the cool montane - or highland - forest, the researchers said.

ZSL conservation biologist Dr Craig Turner said: "We are thrilled to have captured the first ever photographs and prove its continued existence - especially after its 65-year disappearing act."

Slender lorises are small nocturnal primates which are only found in the tropical forests of southern India and Sri Lanka.

They are about 6-10 inches long (15cm-25cm) and have large saucer-like eyes which help their night-time hunting.