Environmentalists seek conservation of Slender Loris in Madurai’s Melur region

Environmental activists and the public have urged the Tamil Nadu government to take efforts to work towards the conservation of the endangered Grey Slender Loris found largely in the areas of Melur taluk in Madurai district.

Jeeva, an activist and a resident of Kottampatti Union said, in the regions of Kesampatti, Pattur, Sekkipatti, Kambur, Pulipatti and Melavalavu within the Melur taluk, Grey Slender Loris, a species of primate in the family Loridae, is found in significant numbers.

“For over three years, we have been documenting and reporting the deaths of the species in night time due to road accidents to the Forest Department,” he added.

To signify its importance and to highlight the declining population of Slender Loris in the region, a study was conducted by the Zoology Department students of the Amercian College in Madurai.

Through four months of field research and survey, a total of 194 Slender Loris were documented in the area. The rapid decimation of the species forced the Forest Department to install two warning signs on the Kesampatti Highway, Mr. Jeeva noted.

However, he said, recently, two more Slender Loris, one in Kesampatti and one in Pattur, died in road accidents.

“Already facing threats from habitat destruction and climate change, the survival of the Grey Slender Loris is at a critical stage. These creatures play a vital role in maintaining the biodiversity of our ecosystem,” he stated.

To protect them, the Government of India has listed them under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. Notably, the Tamil Nadu government established India’s first Slender Loris sanctuary in 2021, covering 11,806 acres in the Kadavur-Ayyalur region on the Karur-Dindigul border, he recalled.

Need for second sanctuary

To ensure the continued protection of biodiversity, it is essential to establish a second sanctuary for the endangered Grey Slender Loris, encompassing Kesampatti, Sekkipatti, Pattur, Kambur, Pulippatti, and Melavalavu, with Kesampatti as its headquarters, Mr. Jeeva demanded.

We request the Secretary of the Department of Environment, Climate Change, and Forests to take this into consideration and initiate the necessary action.