The grey slender loris Loris lydekkerianus, one of only two nocturnal primates of India, is found in the southern part of the country. Our understanding of its geographical distribution is largely based on historical records and short surveys, and little is known of its occurrence in southern India today. We sought to establish the relative abundance of this species in 26 districts in the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Pondicherry in southern India. We sighted lorises in 19 districts, and their relative abundance ranged from 0.01 to 2.21/km. The south-central districts of Tamil Nadu showed the highest densities of lorises, while the western districts showed the lowest. Based on these results, we recommend increased protection measures for the forest patches of the Eastern Ghats mountains in order to ensure the long-term survival of the grey slender loris.

Keywords:
Slender loris, Occurrence, Relative abundance, Eastern Ghats, Conservation, Lorisidae, Strepsirrhini
1.
Brandon-Jones D, Eudey AA, Geissmann T, Groves CP, Melnick DJ, Morales JC, et al. (2004). Asian primate classification. International Journal of Primatology 25: 97-164.
2.
Das S, Dutta S, Mangalam M, Verma RK, Rath S, Kumara HN, Singh M (2011). Prioritizing remnant forests for the conservation of Mysore slender lorises (Loris lyddekerianus lyddekerianus) in Karnataka, India through estimation of population density. International Journal of Primatology 32: 1153-1160.
3.
Duckworth JW (1998). The difficulty of estimating population densities of nocturnal forest mammals from transect counts of animals. Journal of the Zoological Society(London) 246: 466-468.
4.
Forest Survey of India (2011). India State of Forest Report. Dehradun, Forest Survey of India.
5.
Gandhi T, Para SA, Sivakumar A (2010). First record of the slender loris Loris lydekkerianus Cabrera 1908, in Chennai City, Tamil Nadu, India. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 107: 238.
6.
Groves CP (2001). Primate Taxonomy. Washington, Smithsonian Institution Press.
7.
Hill WCO (1933). A monograph on the genus Loris, with an account of the external, cranial and dental characters of the genus: a revision of the known forms, and the description of a new form from northern Ceylon. Ceylon Journal of Science (Colombo), Series B 18: 89-132.
8.
Jayakumar S, Ramachandran A, Bhaskaran G, Heo J (2009). Forest dynamics in the Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu, India. Environmental Management 43: 326-345.
9.
Johnson JM (1984). Diurnal activities of the slender loris, Loris tardigradus, in the Mundanthurai Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu (India). In Current Primate Researches (Roonwal ML, Mohnot SM, Rathore NS, eds.), pp 389-395. Jodhpur, University of Jodhpur Press.
10.
Kar Gupta K (2007). Socioecology and Conservation of the Slender Loris (Loris tardigradus) in Southern India. PhD dissertation, Arizona State University.
11.
Kumar MA, Singh M, Srivastava S, Udhayan A, Kumara HN, Sharma AK (2002). Distribution and management of wild mammals in Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu, India. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society 99: 184-210.
12.
Kumara HN, Singh M, Irfan-Ullah M, Kumar S (2013). Status, distribution, and conservation of slender lorises in India. In Leaping Ahead: Advances in Prosimian Biology (Masters J, Genin F, Gamba M, eds.), pp 343-352. New York, Springer.
13.
Kumara HN, Singh M, Kumar S (2006). Distribution, habitat correlates and conservation of Loris lydekkerianus in Karnataka, India. International Journal of Primatology 27: 941-969.
14.
Lakshmi BB, Mohan BA (2002). Behavioural ecology, distribution and status of Loris tardigradus (slender loris) in Andhra Pradesh. Journal of Nature Conservation 14: 27-31.
15.
Menon RK (1986).The Guindy National Park: Its history and physiogeography. Blackbuck 2: 14-21.
16.
Mittermeier RA, Robles-Gil P, Hoffmann M, Pilgrim JD, Brooks TM, Mittermeier G, Lamoreux JL, Fonseca G (2004). Hotspots Revisited: Earth's Biologically Richest and Most Endangered Terrestrial Ecoregions. Mexico City, CEMEX.
17.
McDonald JH (2009). Handbook of Biological Statistics, 2nd ed. Baltimore, Sparky House.
18.
Myers N (2003). Biodiversity hotspots revisited. Bioscience 53: 916-917.
19.
Nekaris KAI, Bearder SK (2007). The lorisiform primates of Asia and mainland Africa: diversity shrouded in darkness. In Primates in Perspective (Campbell CJ, Fuentes A, Mackinnon KC, Panger M, Bearder SK, eds.), pp 24-45. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
20.
Nekaris KAI, Jayewardene J (2004). Survey of the slender loris (Primates, Lorisidae Gray, 1821: Loris tardigradus Linnaeus, 1758, and Loris lydekkerianus Cabrera, 1908) in Sri Lanka. Journal of Zoology 262: 327-338.
21.
Nekaris KAI, Pambudi JAA, Susanto D, Ahmad RD, Nijman V (2014). Densities, distribution and detectability of a small nocturnal primate (Javan slow loris Nycticebus javanicus) in a montane rainforest. Endangered Species Research 24: 95-103.
22.
Norvell RE, Howe FP, Parrish JR (2003). A seven year comparison of relative-abundance and distance-sampling methods. Auk 120: 1013-1028.
23.
Oppilli P (2005). Foresters rescue slender loris. http://www.hindu.com/2005/09/29/stories/ 2005092914920500.htm.
24.
Pliosungnoen M, Gale G, Savini T (2010). Density and microhabitat use of Bengal slow loris in primary forest and non-native plantation forest. American Journal of Primatology 71: 1-10.
25.
Radhakrishna S, Kumara HN, Sasi R (2011). Distribution patterns of slender loris subspecies (Loris lydekkerianus) in Kerala, southern India. International Journal of Primatology 32: 1007-1019.
26.
Rawat GS (1997). Conservation status of forests and wildlife in the Eastern Ghats, India. Environmental Conservation 24: 307-315.
27.
Roonwal ML, Mohnot SM (1977). Primates of South Asia: Ecology, Sociobiology and Behavior. London, Harvard University Press.
28.
Sasi R, Kumara HN (2014). Distribution and relative abundance of the slender loris Loris lydekkerianus in southern Kerala, India. Primate Conservation 28: 165−170.
29.
Schulze H, Meier B (1995). The subspecies of Loris tardigradus and their conservation status: a review. In Creatures of the Dark: The Nocturnal Prosimians (Alterman l, Doyle GA, Izard MK, eds.), pp 193-209. New York, Plenum Press.
30.
Singh M, Lindburg DG, Udhayan A, Kumar MA, Kumara HN (1999). Status survey of slender loris Loris tardigradus lydekkerianus in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, India. Oryx 33: 31-37.
31.
Singh M, Kumar MA, Kumara HN, Mohnot SM (2000). Distribution and conservation of slender lorises (Loris tardigradus lydekkerianus) in southern Andhra Pradesh, South India. International Journal of Primatology 21: 721-730.
32.
Sterling EJ, Ramaroson MG (1996). Rapid assessment of the primate fauna of the eastern slopes of the Réserve Naturelle Intégrale d'Andringitra. Fieldiana: Zoology New Series 85: 293-303.
33.
Wikramanayake E, Dinerstein E, Loucks C, Olson D, Morrison J, Lamoreux J, McKnight M, Hedao P (2001). Terrestrial Ecoregions of the Indo-Pacific: A Conservation Assessment. Washington, Island Press.
© 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel
2016
Copyright / Drug Dosage / Disclaimer
Copyright: All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be translated into other languages, reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, microcopying, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Drug Dosage: The authors and the publisher have exerted every effort to ensure that drug selection and dosage set forth in this text are in accord with current recommendations and practice at the time of publication. However, in view of ongoing research, changes in government regulations, and the constant flow of information relating to drug therapy and drug reactions, the reader is urged to check the package insert for each drug for any changes in indications and dosage and for added warnings and precautions. This is particularly important when the recommended agent is a new and/or infrequently employed drug.
Disclaimer: The statements, opinions and data contained in this publication are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of the publishers and the editor(s). The appearance of advertisements or/and product references in the publication is not a warranty, endorsement, or approval of the products or services advertised or of their effectiveness, quality or safety. The publisher and the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to persons or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content or advertisements.
You do not currently have access to this content.