Slender Loris on the hit list

BANGALORE: Widely known as the State animal of Karnataka (though unofficially), Slender Loris is today facing a threat to its existence with reports of this ‘slender creature of the dark’ on the hit list of poachers. Till date, there has been absolutely no field or census studies on this rare, endangered species of tiny primates which is found only in India and Sri Lanka.

Speaking to Express, B K Singh, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), said, “The deteriorating habitat and man’s greed to hunt these animals have added to their problems. There is a healthy population of Slender Loris in the State, however, any decision to conduct census has to be taken up by the Wildlife Institute of India, Government of India, as we have no authority to do this survey.”  Singh added, “There was a proposal to declare the Slender Loris as Karnataka’s State Animal. But it was rejected by the Wildlife Board.”

Number of Slender Lorises

Wildlife conservation groups in the State place its population anywhere between 350 and 400. Tumkur district leads in the State having more than 130 animals. “Huliyaldurga, Kunigal and Devarayanadurga have a healthy number of animals clearly indicating that there is not a big threat from poachers while Chamarajanagar, comprising more than 100 animals, has been afflicted by poaching,” B V Gundappa, a wildlife activist, said. 

Some areas of Bangalore Rural, are estimated to comprise 100 animals while in other areas like Mysore, Maddur, Ramanagaram and Kolar their number ranges between 80 and 100.

‘Exclusive Reserves Not Possible’

Regarding carving out exclusive reserves for these primates, Singh said,”It was not possible as Lorises can live in perfect harmony with several other animals. But, of late, poaching of small and big mammals like elephants has become an issue of serious concern.”

Superstitious Beliefs

There are a lot of misplaced superstitious beliefs regarding Lorises as it is reported that people use it for black magic rituals and relish its meat and eyes for its curative properties. Loris’ skin too is prized as it is used in making handbags and purses that are expensive. 

“A network of poachers operating between Karnataka and Goa is involved in the trafficking of these primates which are sold for `10,000 each,” said an activist. Three species are found in the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and the North East while in Sri Lanka, only two species have been identified.

If Slender Loris, comprising the Malabar and Mysore species is found in the south, Slow Loris is found in the north-east which is a smaller version with variations in its colour. Even the rare Malabar species found in the Western Ghats has not been studied and therefore, there are no proper estimates of its existence.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/slender-loris-on-the-hit-list/244968-60-115.html 

John heads to Africa to film with tigers?

John Abraham may spend more than a month in the jungles of the US and Africa to shoot with real pythons and tigers for Mike Pandey’s docu-drama, Return of The Tiger. The filmmaker says, “John is a conservationist and protector of animals. He agreed to do the film so that we could attract more eyeballs and try to sensitise people towards the tiger. Laws alone are not enough.” 

The director reveals that the actor has dedicated 10 days every month until June to the initiative. The film will show re-enactments of close encounters that Pandey has had with tigers and pythons while making other wildlife documentaries. Recounting one of the incidents that will find itself in the film, he says, “I was waiting in a hidden track near a river all night. We had seen pugmarks and knew the tigers would come there with their cubs. Suddenly at 3 am, I saw a pair of huge eyes glaring, just one foot away. I was too stumped to react. But then the tigress rolled a few feet away, and started feeding her cubs.” Pandey admits he has to take the film to foreign shores because of constraints imposed on working with wild animals in India. “In our country, we cannot use tigers for filming purposes. There are no trained tigers here. So we will either use animation or film the wildcat sequences with John overseas.” 

With his docu-drama, Pandey hopes to show the audience the softer side of the endangered species. He says, “Tigers attack only to defend themselves, not to compete with human beings. It’s only when we understand the animal that we can respect and protect it.”

Katraj zoo to pair up endangered species

PUNE: An ex-situ centre to breed species of animals facing extinction will come up in a few months at the Rajiv Gandhi zoological park in Katraj. Animals like the rusty-spotted cat, jungle cat, mouse deer, king cobra and the Indian giant squirrel will be bred here.

Zoo director Kumar Jadhav told TOI that an 'off-site conservation' breeding centre for endangered animals outside their natural habitat will come up. Animals will be procured from other zoos, but they will not be put up as exhibits.

"The idea behind the conservation breeding is to increase their population. At present, these animals are dwindling. We have the expertise to take up such a project," he said.

VB Sawarkar, former director of Wildlife Institute of India, said that conservation breeding is carried out when there is concern about the status of the population of a species in the wild. "In case of a drastic decline in the population or the habitat is lost, conservation breeding is taken up to save the animal species from extinction. It is carried out to restore the population. Animals are bred in captive condition and later released in the wild," he said.

There have been such experiments elsewhere in India. Pygmy hog, a small species of wild pig in India, which inhabited Nepal, Bhutan and India, is now only found in Assam. Human encroachment has largely destroyed the natural habitat of the pygmy hog. Development, agriculture, domestic grazing and deliberate fires have robbed them of habitat.

They were bred in Guwahati zoo. Two males and four females comprised the founder species with which the captive breeding started in 1996. In 2004, the authorities successfully bred 70 animals, which were rehabilitated in the wild.

Another example is of Pere David's deer that was extinct from native China. It was captive bred in European zoos.

However, captive breeding needs certain conditions. The psychological condition and sex ratio of the animals should be looked into before conservation breeding is taken up.

Experts said it is not just about keeping animals in pairs and breeding them. They need behavioural environment and population parameters must be studied. For example, there are animal species that should have more female population compared to male for successful breeding.

"In many cases, after successful breeding, the animals are either left in sanctuaries or released into the wild when there is a natural habitat to support them or the threat to the species has lessened," Sawarkar said.

The giant Indian squirrel found in Bhimashankar wildlife sanctuary is now seen in scattered population. The mouse deer in Maharashtra is difficult to spot and there is a decline in population of the jungle cat and rusty-spotted cat.

Permission from the Central Zoo Authority and trained biologists are needed for conservation breeding, BC Choudhari, scientist, Wildlife Institute of India said.

Nandankanan zoological park in Orissa was the first in the country to have a captive breeding centre of endangered species. It has undertaken a reintroduction programme for species like the gharial, mugger, blackbuck and spotted deer.