With Dugong & Slender Loris Reserves, Tamil Nadu Leads in Wildlife Conservation

The department is rewarding the fishermen and locals who rescue dugongs and slender lorises from getting killed.

Tamil Nadu has become a forerunner in biodiversity conservation, having set up the country's first dugong conservation reserve and slender loris sanctuary.

(Image: Vibhushita Singh/ The Quint)

A dugong was rescued by fishermen at Naripaiyur beach in Tamil Nadu's Ramanathapuram on Saturday, due to the efforts taken by the Tamil Nadu government to involve the local community.

Tamil Nadu has become a forerunner in biodiversity conservation and greening having set up the country's first dugong conservation reserve and slender loris sanctuary, among other initiatives. Chief Minister M K Stalin on 16 November chaired the first meeting of the State Wildlife Board, since the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led government assumed power and said the state would always be a leader in the protecting wildlife as well as in the safeguarding of natural resources.

Additional Chief Secretary Environment Climate Change and Forests of Tamil Nadu, Supriya Sahu, told The Quint that fishermen have been their main watchdogs of the ocean. They have been rewarding the fishermen who cut their nets to rescue dugongs and the villagers who help spread awareness to save lorises.

A milestone for the Tamil Nadu Wildlife Department is the the dugong conservation reserve that was notified on 21 September, in Palk Bay covering the coastal waters of Thanjavur and Pudukottai districts, with an area of 448 square kilometres.

Dugongs are listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and there are just around 200 dugongs left in India. The species is already extinct in China.

Gill nets are one of the biggest causes of mortality of dugongs. Supriya, Additional Chief Secretary Environment Climate Change and Forests of Tamil Nadu, said they are considering setting up a fund to reward fishermen who cut their nets to save the dugongs.

Dugongs, thought to have inspired myths of mermaids among seafarers, are marine mammals that live in small groups in shallow waters and graze on seagrass.

Tamil Nadu has become a forerunner in biodiversity conservation and greening having set up the country's first slender loris sanctuary.

The sanctuary covers 11,806 hectares of forest areas in Karur and Dindigul districts.

Dubbed as the farmers' friend, the slender loris is a small nocturnal mammal that is arboreal in nature as they spend most of their life on trees. The species acts as a biological predator of pests in agricultural crops, which benefits farmers.

Superstition is a major threat faced by these mammals. There is the misunderstanding that their meat is good for eyesight.

Several locals believe that if pregnant women see the loris during their pregnancy, their newborn would resemble the loris. And so, they kill these animals.

The forest department has roped in the district forest officers and collectors to spread awareness among the locals.