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

Environmentalists in Madurai urge government action for the conservation of the endangered Grey Slender Loris in Melur taluk.

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.