India gets first sanctuary for slender loris primates in Tamil Nadu

After declaring India’s first Dugong Conservation Reserve at Palk Bay and topping the list of Ramsar sites with 14 wetlands, Tamil Nadu has added one more feather to its cap. The State has notified the country’s first sanctuary for slender loris in Kadavur.

Classified as mammals, slender loris belong to the order of primates.

Kadavur sanctuary will cover 11,806 hectares in the districts of Karur and Dindigul.

These creatures are arboreal, that is they spend most of their time on trees and small nocturnal mammals. Interestingly, they are farmers’ friends as they are biological predators of pests which harm crops.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed these creatures as endangered.

In a statement released by the Government, Supriya Sahu, the Additional Chief Secretary, Environment, Climate Change and Forests said that the survival of the species depends on its habitat improvement, conservation efforts and mitigation of threats.

Keeping this in mind the State Government she said, the State Government identified forest areas measuring 11,800 hectares in the two districts as important habitats.

The forest divisions in these two districts are estimated to have a population of 14,000 slender lorises.

The Government has earmarked a sum of Rs.5 crore for the Dindigul and Karur forest reserves to establish the sanctuary and its management until 2026.

Also read: 11 more wetlands in Ramsar list takes India’s total to 75