BENGALURU: Karnataka will soon have India’s first Slender Loris Community Conservation Reserve. The forest department is working on the proposal, with the help of locals of Nagawalli in Tumkuru to declare, the area falling under seven gram panchayats spread across 7 sq kms in the area as a community conservation reserve.
The proposal has been made in the wake of the rapidly dwindling population. “The government will take the final decision. Due to the awareness, locals have been working independently to protect the species.
The land that is being proposed will be owned by locals, but protection will be by the department. Priority is species protection and whenever illegal activities happen, we will be able to act the locals will also be involved,” Tumkuru, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Anupama H, told TNIE.
Slender Loris is listed under Schedule-1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. It is illegally traded and poached for black magic. Tamil Nadu is the first state to have a dedicated Slender Loris Wildlife Sanctuary in Madurai.
Karnataka has only one community conservation reserve- Kokkre Bellur Community Conservation Reserve- in Maddur taluk, Mandya. It is also known as the Pelicanry of Karnataka. It is the traditional nesting site of Spot-billed Pelicans (Pelecanus Philippensis) and Painted Storks (Mycteria leucocephala). These have been protected by villagers themselves.
For many years, the areas in Tumkuru, comprising, Nagawalli, Hebbur, Devarayanadurga state forest and areas around Tumkuru city, were a safe haven for Slender Loris. Many students, wildlife enthusiasts, activists, families and youth visit the areas to be a part of the Slender Loris sighting trails, organised by conservationists. But now with their drastically dwindling population, conservationists with the help of members of gram panchayats drew up a proposal and submitted it to the forest department to declare the area as a community conservation reserve.
“Their population has been on the decline ever since their natural habitat has been destroyed for agricultural works and creating fences. The bamboo clusters have been removed and streams have also started to dry up. Farmers are increasingly using pesticides, insecticides and rat or rodent repellents. This is affecting the Slender Loris that eat them. W
idening of Kunigal- Tumkuru Road has also affected their habitat. Farmers have dug borewells and have drawn electricity lines to pump water. The cables are also posing a threat to the animals in the canopies,” B V Gundappa, Chairman of Wildlife Aware Nature, Tumkuru, and an expert on Slender Loris, said.