2006-7 annual report - Nature Conservation Foundation

Ecology and conservation of the lion-tailed macaque in Karnataka state
The lion-tailed macaque is a highly-endangered primate
that is facing imminent local extinction or sharp declines
in many protected areas over its distributional range in
the Western Ghats mountains. An important population
in this species is the newly-discovered Sirsi-Honnavara
population, which might mark the northernmost point
of its distribution. This study aims to understand the
ranging and feeding ecology of this population and
plans to initiate conservation measures to protect its
habitat and its last constituent groups.
Distribution, abundance and conservation status of the slender loris in the Eastern and
Western Ghats, India
This study aims to examine the geographical range
limits of the two Indian slender loris subspecies, the
Mysore and the Malabar slender loris, their population
densities, and factors affecting their abundance in the
Eastern and Western Ghats mountains. The results of
the study will not only provide essential data to assess
the conservation status of the species and formulate
management strategies for its survival, but will also
present a broader perspective of differences in landscape
and faunal assemblages in the Eastern and the
Western Ghats.
Distribution and conservation of the purple-faced langur, the toque macaque and the slender
loris in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is global biodiversity hotspot, where over
90% of the primates are endemic and threatened. We
have implemented a collaborative primate conservation
programme in Sri Lanka that is focusing on population
surveys and demographic patterns of its least-known
taxa and conservation-oriented studies of its highly
threatened taxa. As a first phase of this study, we conducted
a pilot study in Sri Lanka in order to identify key
areas of primate conservation in Sri Lanka, assess the
logistics of launching such a conservation programme
and to strengthen collaborative links with Sri Lankan
scientists. This pilot study provided a conservation action
plan that outlined areas where primate conservation
efforts should be focused in Sri Lanka. In the
second phase of our study, we hope to conduct a comprehensive
distribution survey of all the primate species
in the country so that information may be obtained
on primate abundance and distribution in Sri Lanka,
and facilitate the implementation of a well-defined, collaborative
conservation programme for its endangered
primate taxa in the near future.
Ecology, behaviour and conservation of macaques in northeastern India
We have recently developed a research programme to
investigate the demography, behavioural ecology and
conservation status of a highly-endangered primate
community, consisting of four macaque species – the
Assamese macaque, the pigtailed macaque, the rhesus
macaque and the stumptailed macaque, together with
the hoolock gibbon and the capped langur – in several
fragments of low-lying tropical rainforests of the Brahmaputra
Valley in Assam. This project has just completed
its first phase during which we have explored the
occurrence, distribution and status of primate communities
in 43 Reserve Forests and Proposed Reserve Forests
in eastern Assam. We have also conducted several
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GPS training programmes for forest personnel in Digboi
and Doomdooma Forest Divisions, Assam.
We have recently described a primate from Arunachal
Pradesh, the Arunachal macaque (with the scientific
name Macaca munzala), which is a species new
to science. In 2005, we initiated a long-term project to
explore its demography, behavioural ecology and conservation
status in the Tawang and West Kameng districts
of western Arunachal Pradesh. In this connection,
we have also completed a preliminary survey for the
Arunachal macaque in the districts of Upper Subansiri
and West Siang in central Arunachal Pradesh.