A slender loris was electrocuted recently when it moved across an overhead line on the Dindigul-Eriodu route. The carcass was found by passers-by.
S. Bharathidasan, secretary of the non-profit organisation Arulagam, stated that such incidents often went unnoticed by authorities. “There is an immediate and critical need to install insulated cables or protective casing on overhead wires. This is the only long-term solution to prevent these ‘silent travellers’ from being electrocuted,” he said.
The slender loris, listed as ‘Near Threatened’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, is a small nocturnal primate that moves using a slow, hand-over-hand motion. In October 2022, the government notified the Kadavur Slender Loris Sanctuary as India’s first sanctuary for the animal, covering 11,806 hectares of land (under seven blocks) in Karur and Dindigul districts, under Section 26(A)(1)(b) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
In March 2026, the State government inaugurated the Slender Loris Conservation Centre at Ayyalur in Dindigul district — the first such facility in India dedicated to conserving this threatened species.
Vulnerable to roadkill
