KADAVUR RESERVE FOREST

Recently, some environmentalists demanded that Tamil Nadu’s Kadavur Reserve Forest be declared as a Wildlife Sanctuary in order to conserve Slender Loris (Loris tardigradus).
The wildlife census conducted during 2016-17 showed an appreciable population of 3,500 slender loris in the Karur Reserve Forest.

Important points:

The slender lorises (Loris) are a genus of loris native to India and Sri Lanka.
Slender lorises spend most of their life in trees, traveling along the tops of branches with slow and precise movements.
They generally feed on insects, reptiles, plant shoots, and fruit.
They are found in tropical rainforests, scrub forests, semi-deciduous forests, and swamps.

There are two species of Slender Loris, the only members of the genus ‘Loris’:

Threat:

It is believed that they have medicinal properties and they are captured and sold. Since there is great demand for keeping these animals as pets, they are illegally smuggled.
Habitat loss, electrocution of live wires and road accidents are other threats that have caused its populations to dwindle.

Kadavur Reserve Forest

The forest is located in Karur district of Tamil Nadu with a forest area of around 6000-hectare. The forest consists of hills and dense dry areas.
Indian Bison, Spotted Deer, mouse deer, slender loris, Jackal, Mongoose, black naped hare, wild boar, porcupine, monitor lizard, Pangolin, Monkeys, pythons, etc are found in the forests.

SOURCE: THE HINDU,THE ECONOMIC TIMES,,MINT

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