Conservation from the root: awareness-raising activities to conserve the Endangered Bengal slow loris (Nycticebus bengalensis) in Bangladesh.

Abstract

Bengal slow loris (Nycticebus bengalensis) is the only nocturnal primate of Bangladesh, classed as Endangered both regionally and globally. One of the barriers to conserving this species is that its wild behaviour is little known, alongside local people being less aware of it due to its nocturnal habits. As part of our long-term ecological studies of the species, from June 2020 to November 2022, we arranged three awareness programs in three forest patches of northeast and one in southeast Bangladesh to overcome these issues. We visited students in schools adjacent to forests to deliver an ecophilic education program. A total of 251 students (aged between 8-14 years) participated in these awareness programs from four different schools. 126 students were from the Southeast, 125 students were from the Northeast region. Using an auditory and visual approach, we delivered a short talk about the Bengal slow loris via storytelling that included important yet fun and interesting ecological and morphological aspects of the slow loris, combined with a short lecture using a PowerPoint presentation. These aspects were interspersed with kinaesthetic fun games (slow cycle race, quiz, etc.) to reinforce a positive learning experience. To gain feedback, we delivered an oral quiz and found that this species was unknown to many participants, and it was an evil symbol for some. This information is vital for preparing our future outreach activities. Although our awareness program has been a vital first step, we have been able to highlight areas of knowledge that we hope will lead to behaviour change. We recognise that such preliminary education approaches are incredibly helpful to formulate more structured programs.