Abstract
Ethnozoological practices to cure various diseases have a long history. Communities that reside near the forest collect wild animals and their derivatives to prepare medicines and get relief from diseases. Northeastern India is home to many tribes with vast traditional ethnobiological knowledge, and there are many reports of zootherapeutic uses in the region. In an attempt to understand primate-based ethnozoologic use in the area a literature survey was carried out using different sources. The findings revealed that Hoolock hoolock was the most used species among the primates (48 %), followed by Macaca assamensis (20 %) and Macaca mulatta (10 %). Among the materials used, the flesh of primates was the most dominant (43 %), followed by the blood (20 %) and brain (14 %). This paper highlights the negative effects of ethno-medicinal uses of primates to draw the attention of conservationists and encourage conservation education to address the damage to primates in the name of health care. Government agencies are also requested to strengthen health care systems to discourage the killing of valuable primate species.
Highlights
Faunal resources play vital roles in human life and societies (Alves 2012), where the importance of animals is manifested in religion, culture, art, music, dance, literature, food, economy, and magico-religious practices (Alves 2012)
Non-human primates are an integral element in ethnozoology (Alves et al 2010; Lee 2010; Svensson et al 2015), which has can a range of effects on animals and their habitats (Hockings 2016)
The study found that seven out of eleven primates in northeastern India are used in traditional medicine for the treatment of various ailments by different indigenous tribes
Summary
Faunal resources play vital roles in human life and societies (Alves 2012), where the importance of animals is manifested in religion, culture, art, music, dance, literature, food, economy, and magico-religious practices (Alves 2012). Primates are considered a menace in agricultural and urban areas for stealing crops and food from fields and kitchens, inflicting economic damage (Mittermeier et al 2005, 2007) This forms the basis of man-animal conflict resulting in retaliation killing, illegal trade, hunting for meat, fur, ornamental and medicinal purposes, and capture to be kept as pets (Mittermeier et al 2005, 2007; Srivastava 2006; Hockings 2007; Alves et al 2010; Devi & Radhakrishna 2013). The species recorded were included in Appendices I or II of CITES
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