The slow loris is one of the few venomous mammals on earth, and the only venomous primate. It has one of the oddest venom-creation methods in the world. And it kills you much the same way your cat would (if he could).


When the slow loris is frightened (or vengeful) it will raise its arms above its head and stick its face, very quickly, under its arm. It's filling its mouth with secretions from its brachial gland. The secretion will mix with the slow loris' saliva and become a venom, which can be fatal to human beings.


The slow loris kills by either biting with its mouth full of poison, or slicking its fur up with the toxin and waiting to be attacked. To be fair to the critter, its venom was probably developed for self-defense. Although it occasionally uses the venom to kill its prey, it is happiest just being left alone.

If you do anger a slow loris enough to bite you, you probably won't die, but if you do you will have a very unpleasant final few minutes. The slow loris' venom kills by putting its victim into anaphylaxis. It's an allergic reaction that causes swelling (including in the face and throat), extreme itching, and cardiac arrest. What causes this reaction? It's a complicated protein, but researchers found out that structurally it resembles Fel d 1, the cat protein that sets off allergic reactions in humans.

A slow loris basically kills by being an ultra-cat.

[Via Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know: The Biochemistry, Ecology, and Evolution of Slow Loris Venom]