Persistence and protection of the Vulnerable Bengal slow loris Nycticebus bengalensis in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, north-east India

Abstract

The Bengal slow loris Nycticebus bengalensis is the only strepsirrhine primate in north-east India. It is categorized as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. The limited information on its status and ecology is the main hindrance to developing a conservation strategy for this species in India. Therefore during February 2009–May 2010 we surveyed the species in 16 protected areas in Assam and one protected area in Arunachal Pradesh. We used recce transects to estimate encounter rates for the species. A team of 3–4 conducted night-time surveys (18.00–03.00) on foot, covering 370 km over 99 full and 28 partial nights. We recorded lorises a total of 22 times in nine protected areas in Assam and three times in the protected area in Arunachal Pradesh. The mean distance of lorises from transects at the time of encounter was 15.04 m, at a mean height of 12.36 m above ground. The encounter rate was 0.06–0.2 lorises per km, which is relatively low compared to encounter rates for slow lorises elsewhere in their range but higher than recorded by other studies in north-east India. We found that despite hunting and habitat loss Bengal slow lorises still exist in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, albeit patchily within a forest block. The protected area network in these states is important for their conservation.

Mortality of primates due to roads and power lines in two forest patches in Bangladesh

“…Rhesus and pig-tailed macaques were only recorded to have died from road accidents because these two species frequently use the ground for movement (Southwick et al 1976, Bernstein 1967. Road accidents are considered as one of the major threats for Bengal slow loris as well (Choudhury 1992, Radhakrishna et al 2006, Kumar and Devi 2010, Das et al 2015. Only Radhakrishna et al (2010) reported an incident of mortality from electrocution in this species near Siju Wildlife Sanctuary in Garo Hills, north- eastern India.…”