RIHANNA RECENTLY SPENT weekend at the beach in Thailand, and as usual she took a heap of photos.

One of those pictures, posted to her Instagram account, showed her cuddling an endangered primate called a slow loris.

That didn’t sit well with authorities, who arrested two people for allegedly peddling protected species.

On a break from her Diamonds World Tour Rihanna visited the Thai island of Phuket, where she came in contact with the animal.

An Instagram photo she also shared on Twitter showed her in sunglasses snuggling up to the slow loris.

The squirrel-like animal with big eyes, is native to Southeast Asia and is listed as a protected species.

It gained popularity as a pet after videos like this appeared online:

Phuket authorities arrested two males after they were alerted to the picture.

Police confiscated two lorises from the pair — a 20-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy — who could face charges of possession of protected animals.

The charge carries a penalty of up to four years in prison and a 40,000 baht (€960) fine.

Authorities have tried for years to crack down on the problem of vendors exploiting wildlife, particularly in popular tourist areas where people pay to pose for pictures with elephants, orangutans and other animals.

Rihanna also posted a picture of herself playing with a herd of elephants in the street Friday night, with the comment:

They all hail Empress when She walk by.

badgalriri badgalriri

- Additional reporting by Emer McLysaght 

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