Knowledge, Beliefs, and Experience Regarding Slow Lorises in Southern Thailand: Coexistence in a Developed Landscape

Overview

Journal Animals (Basel)

Date 2023 Oct 28

PMID 37894010

Authors

Luke F Quarles

Juthapathra Dechanupong

Nancy Gibson

K A I Nekaris

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Natural landscapes are being converted for agriculture and other human uses across Asia and this development presents potential threats for specialist species of primates, like the Endangered slow lorises of Thailand ( and ). It is crucial to understand the interface between humans and slow lorises in order to conserve these primates. Local ecological knowledge provides valuable information about these cryptic nocturnal species. We conducted 36 semi-structured interviews in Khao Lak, in southern Thailand, asking (1) where slow lorises were seen, (2) what they were doing, (3) how often people see slow lorises, and (4) what people knew about them. We converted the interviews to free lists and determined the importance of key words. Our results show that the informants saw lorises frequently in six general locations: forests/trees (58%), electric wires (47%), towns/villages (36%), plantations (33%), homesteads (28%), and roads (17%). The most prominent places were forests/trees, wires, and plantations. Eleven key concepts defined local beliefs, with the most prominent being that lorises are awake at night (69%), eat fruit (42%), are not aggressive (25%), are bad omens (25%), and there used to be more of them (25%). Due to a minimal presence of persecution or exploitation of slow lorises by humans in the study area and general tolerance in the face of competition for the same resources and spaces, we suggest that, despite extensive persecution for the illegal photo prop trade in nearby Phuket, the people of Khao Lak seem to live in a state of passive coexistence with slow lorises. However, we did find some evidence that the pet and photo prop trade are still present in the area. It is crucial that coexistence be struck within the context of deforestation and urbanization so that conservation initiatives can take place within the community to further improve the lives of humans and the status of lorises.

Citing Articles

Local Voices: Perspectives from the Local Community on the Primates of Kakamega Forest, Western Kenya.

Ikhuluru W, Imboma M, Liseche S, Milemele M, Shilabiga S, Cords M Animals (Basel). 2023; 13(22).

PMID: 38003101 PMC: 10668696. DOI: 10.3390/ani13223483.

References

Estrada A, Garber P . Principal Drivers and Conservation Solutions to the Impending Primate Extinction Crisis: Introduction to the Special Issue. Int J Primatol. 2022; 43(1):1-14. PMC: 8853428. DOI: 10.1007/s10764-022-00283-1. View

Franquesa-Soler M, Jorge-Sales L, Aristizabal J, Moreno-Casasola P, Serio-Silva J . Evidence-based conservation education in Mexican communities: Connecting arts and science. PLoS One. 2020; 15(2):e0228382. PMC: 6999903. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228382. View

Papworth S, Milner-Gulland E, Slocombe K . The natural place to begin: the ethnoprimatology of the Waorani. Am J Primatol. 2013; 75(11):1117-28. PMC: 4230474. DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22173. View

Wang M, Carrasco L, Edwards D . Reconciling Rubber Expansion with Biodiversity Conservation. Curr Biol. 2020; 30(19):3825-3832.e4. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.07.014. View

Pliosungnoen M, Gale G, Savini T . Density and microhabitat use of Bengal slow loris in primary forest and non-native plantation forest. Am J Primatol. 2010; 72(12):1108-17. DOI: 10.1002/ajp.20875. View

Turvey S, Bryant J, Duncan C, Wong M, Guan Z, Fei H . How many remnant gibbon populations are left on Hainan? Testing the use of local ecological knowledge to detect cryptic threatened primates. Am J Primatol. 2016; 79(2):1-13. DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22593. View

Aswani S, Lemahieu A, Sauer W . Global trends of local ecological knowledge and future implications. PLoS One. 2018; 13(4):e0195440. PMC: 5886557. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0195440. View

Swapna N, Radhakrishna S, Gupta A, Kumar A . Exudativory in the Bengal slow loris (Nycticebus bengalensis) in Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary, Tripura, northeast India. Am J Primatol. 2009; 72(2):113-21. DOI: 10.1002/ajp.20760. View

Jaroenkietkajorn U, Gheewala S . Understanding the impacts on land use through GHG-water-land-biodiversity nexus: The case of oil palm plantations in Thailand. Sci Total Environ. 2021; 800:149425. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149425. View

10.

Stafford C, Alarcon-Valenzuela J, Patino J, Preziosi R, Sellers W . Know Your Monkey: Identifying Primate Conservation Challenges in an Indigenous Kichwa Community Using an Ethnoprimatological Approach. Folia Primatol (Basel). 2016; 87(1):31-47. DOI: 10.1159/000444414. View

11.

Gardiner M, Weldon A, Poindexter S, Gibson N, Nekaris K . Survey of practitioners handling slow lorises (Primates: ): an assessment of the harmful effects of slow loris bites. J Venom Res. 2018; 9:1-7. PMC: 6055083. View

12.

Nekaris K, Campera M, Nijman V, Birot H, Rode-Margono E, Fry B . Slow lorises use venom as a weapon in intraspecific competition. Curr Biol. 2020; 30(20):R1252-R1253. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.08.084. View

13.

Thch H, Le M, Vu N, Panariello A, Sethi G, Sterling E . Slow Loris Trade in Vietnam: Exploring Diverse Knowledge and Values. Folia Primatol (Basel). 2018; 89(1):45-62. DOI: 10.1159/000481196. View

14.

Estrada A, Garber P, Rylands A, Roos C, Fernandez-Duque E, Di Fiore A . Impending extinction crisis of the world's primates: Why primates matter. Sci Adv. 2017; 3(1):e1600946. PMC: 5242557. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1600946. View

15.

Choudhury A, Choudhury P, Gassah R . Habitat suitability modeling for the endangered Bengal slow loris (Nycticebus bengalensis) in the Indo-Chinese subregion of India: a case study from southern Assam (India). Primates. 2022; 63(2):173-184. DOI: 10.1007/s10329-021-00967-x. View

16.

Pfund J, Watts J, Boissiere M, Boucard A, Bullock R, Ekadinata A . Understanding and integrating local perceptions of trees and forests into incentives for sustainable landscape management. Environ Manage. 2011; 48(2):334-49. PMC: 3142544. DOI: 10.1007/s00267-011-9689-1. View

17.

Plesker R, Schulze H . Dental disease in slender lorises (Loris tardigradus). Zoo Biol. 2013; 32(5):571-4. DOI: 10.1002/zoo.21072. View

18.

Oliver K, Ngoprasert D, Savini T . Slow loris density in a fragmented, disturbed dry forest, north-east Thailand. Am J Primatol. 2019; 81(3):e22957. DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22957. View

19.

Miard P, Nekaris K, Ramlee H . Hiding in the dark: Local ecological knowledge about slow loris in Sarawak sheds light on relationships between human populations and wild animals. Hum Ecol Interdiscip J. 2017; 45(6):823-831. PMC: 5698378. DOI: 10.1007/s10745-017-9954-x. View

20.

Wilde H . Anaphylactic shock following bite by a 'slow loris', Nycticebus coucang. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1972; 21(5):592-4. DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.1972.21.592. View