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Ethnoprimatology pp 259–272Cite as

The Little Fireface Project: Community Conservation of Asia’s Slow Lorises via Ecology, Education, and Empowerment

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Part of the book series: Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects ((DIPR))

Abstract

Slow lorises, small nocturnal primates found throughout Southeast Asia, are threatened by the illegal trade for pets, medicines, and tourist photo props. Being the only venomous primate, traders cut the teeth of slow lorises, preventing essential feeding, social, and defensive behaviours. Thus the conservation of these rare primates is confounded by the fact that most confiscated animals have no hope to be returned to the wild. To examine the multi-faceted problems facing wild slow lorises, in 2011 I established a long-term field project on the island of Java, where the Critically Endangered Javan slow loris is endemic (Nycticebus javanicus). With less than 10 % of natural forest remaining, Javan slow lorises are dependent on local people for their survival. Although Javan slow lorises are sparse throughout their range, we located an agricultural area in Garut District, West Java, where the animals still occur in relatively large densities. With this area as a base, we began: a monitoring project of Javan slow lorises across the island; quantified and assessed weekly conservation education sessions in Garut District with children; held annual training sessions for law enforcement officers; coordinated biannual events for adults to increase pride in this endemic species; assessed monthly activities for adults to increase pride and awareness; and devised a long-term behavioural study of the impact of living in an anthropogenically disturbed habitat. We show that long-term conservation projects are essential to establish trust in an area and that working together with international and national communities is the way forward in twenty-first century conservation.

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Acknowledgements

I thank our whole team, already mentioned in various ways in this article, with special mention to our project trackers Dendi Rustandi, Aconk Zalaeny, Adin Nunur, and Yiyi Muhammad Nazmi. I am truly heartened by the many people who have donated to the Little Fireface Project and to slow lorises, a primate previously ignored by scientists and conservationists. I thank in particular our funders over the years: Amersfoort Zoo, Augsburg Zoo, Blank Park Zoo, Born Free Foundation, Brevard Zoo, Chicago Zoological Society/Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Endangered Species Fund, Cleveland Zoo and Zoo Society, Columbus Zoo, Conservation International Primate Action Fund and Margot Marsh Biodiversity Fund, Cotswold Wildlife Park, Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund, Henry Doorly Zoo, International Primate Protection League, Lawrence Jacobsen Conservation Award, Leverhulme Trust RPG-084, Longleat Safari and Adventure Park, Lush Charity Pot, Mazuri Zoo Feeds, Memphis Zoo, Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, Nacey Maggioncalda Foundation, National Geographic (GEFNE101-13), People’s Trust for Endangered Species, Phoenix Zoo, Primate Action Fund, Primate Conservation Inc, Primate Society of Great Britain, Royal Geographic Society, Shaldon Wildlife Trust, Shepreth Wildlife Park, Sophie Danforth Foundation, Quantum Conservation Inc, University’s Federation for Animal Welfare Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust, ZACC, and ZGAP.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nocturnal Primate Research Group, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK

    K. A. I. Nekaris

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  1. K. A. I. Nekaris
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Correspondence to K. A. I. Nekaris .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Anthropology, University of Oregon, Bend, Oregon, USA

    Michel T. Waller

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Nekaris, K.A.I. (2016). The Little Fireface Project: Community Conservation of Asia’s Slow Lorises via Ecology, Education, and Empowerment. In: Waller, M. (eds) Ethnoprimatology. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30469-4_14

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