SLENDER LORIS | IAS GYAN

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Context: Tamil Nadu notifies India's first Slender Loris sanctuary.

Details:

About the species:

The Slender Lorises (Loris) are a genus of lorisnative to India and Sri Lanka.
The genus comprises two species - the red Slender Loris found in Sri Lanka and the gray Slender Loris from Sri Lanka and India.
It is listed as an endangered speciesby the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and protected under Schedule 1 of the Indian legislation of the Wildlife (Protection) Act (WPA), 1972.
Slender Loris has a wide range of ecological roles to play in the terrestrial ecosystem. The species acts as a biological predator of pests in agricultural crops and benefits farmers.
These small nocturnal mammals (active during the night and sleeping during the day) are arboreal in nature as they spend most of their life on trees.

Location:

They are found in tropical rainforests, scrub forests, semi-deciduous forests and swamps.
In India, the animal is largely found in the Eastern Ghats of the Karur and Dindigul Forest Divisions.
According to a census taken in 2016-17 by the Forest Department, the Kadavur Reserve Forest has a population of 3,500 Slender Loris, which is estimated to be around 5,000 currently.

Major threats:

Since it faced major threats such as habitat loss, hunting for the pet trade and road kills, the official felt the need for enhanced protection through a sanctuary.

About the Kadavur Slender Loris sanctuary:

Recognizing the need for immediate conservation of Slender Loris species, the State government designated 11,800 hectares of forest as important habitats for the Kadavur Slender Loris sanctuary.
This will cover Vedasandur, Dindigul East and Natham taluks in Dindigul district and Kadavur taluk in Karur district of TN.
The entire forest in the taluks has been classified as a reserve forest and considered a hotspot in the State for Slender Loris.
The medium to high temperature in the hill, which has an elevation of about 1,200 m above sea level is attributed to the growth of Slender Loris.