Participants at the community conservation camp at Barekuri village in Tinsukia district. Picture by Pronib Das

Nov. 16: Prasanta Saikia, Deepali Moran, Rajib Gohain, Jayanta Madhab Saikia and their friends had often seen them get up to their tricks in their village at Barekuri in Tinsukia district since childhood. However, little did they realise that these monkeys were not just any simian species but the globally endangered hoolock gibbon and slow loris.

Indeed, it took a community conservation camp, organised by environmental NGO Nature’s Beckon at Barekuri village recently, to help 70 young students appreciate the fact that these are rare species which desperately need conservation.

The camp was organised by Nature’s Beckon with assistance from the Wildlife and Environment Conservation Organisation and with financial support from Oil India Limited (OIL), which has operations in this area.

Assam has nine species of monkeys — rhesus macaque, Assamese macaque, stump-tailed macaque, pig-tailed macaque, golden langur, capped langur, slow loris, spectacled monkey or Phayre’s leaf monkey and the hoolock gibbon — which can be spotted in the various reserves, sanctuaries and national parks.

As NGO director Soumyadeep Datta pointed out: “Very few people know about the different species of monkeys and their distinguishing features. We were taken aback to learn that almost nobody in the village knew that these Hoolocks and lorises were endangered species when we organised the camp.”

Though Barekuri is not under the jurisdiction of any sort of wildlife protection area, it has a sizeable population of around 20 hoolock gibbons. This species is rated as endangered under the Red Data book on Indian Animals and is also a Schedule I species under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

During the camp, the students — who were from classes IX to XII — were also taken out for conducting a survey of the gibbons.

“During the survey, we found that there has been an acute shortage of food for the gibbons as the canopy layer of the trees where they live has been destroyed. Also, the lack of knowledge among villagers about the gibbons was appaling. We have decided to launch a massive campaign in the village so that these gibbons and their habitat is not destroyed,” said Bikash Bordoloi, a member of the NGO who was with the students as a guide.

The students have responded, and how. Armed with the knowledge they have gathered about the gibbons and lorises from the two-day camp, the 70-member group has launched a massive campaign in the village and adjoining areas for strengthening the community-based habitat conservation movement.

“The camp was an eye opener for all of us. We have already formed small teams of at least five members, which had launched a massive door-to-door campaign. We distributed leaflets and put up posters,” said Rajib, a participant at the camp.