title: Ethnozoological study of animals used by traditional healers in Silent Valley of Kerala, India.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  India has great biodiversity of fauna. The use of fauna with medicinal properties is a common practice since pre-hispanic times. In the last decade, there has been an interest in ethnozoological studies in India. Ethnozoological studies are necessary in order to discover new medications for human health. There is urgency in recording such data. This is the first ethnozoological study in which statistical calculations about animals are done by the ICF method in Kerala, India. The purpose of this study is to analyze and record traditional knowledge of animals utilized by the indigenous people living on Silent Valley, located in Palakkad district of Kerala, India and to document the traditional names, preparation and uses of these animals.
  
  
  METHODS
  Field study was carried out for a period of September 2011 to August 2012 years in Kerala. The ethnomedicinal information was collected through interviews, informal meetings, open and group discussions and overt observations with semi-structured questionnaires among traditional healers. The collected data were analyzed through informant consensus factor (ICF) and fidelity level (FL).
  
  
  RESULTS
  This study recorded a total of 57 families, 66 genera, and 69 species of animals that produced 163 methods for usages. Mammalian occupied 29% of the total animals listed, followed by aves (28%), insects (17%), reptiles (10%), actinopterygii (4%), malacostraca, amphibians and clitellata (each 3%), chilopoda (2%) and gastropoda (1%) of the whole, respectively. In regards to usage, 68 species utilized as food products and medicinal uses, totaled 98.55% followed by one species for cosmetics (1.45%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study indicated that the animals are still being used by the local healers of Palakkad district, to treat various illnesses. The empirical knowledge reported in this study will provide outstanding possibilities for the discovery of new sources of medicine for the drug industry.
authors.affiliation: PG and Research Department of Botany and Microbiology, A.V.V.M. Sri Pushpam College (Autonomous) Poondi, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India. Electronic address: svijaya_kumar2579@rediff.com.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vijayakumar
authors.affiliation: PG and Research Department of Botany and Microbiology, A.V.V.M. Sri Pushpam College (Autonomous) Poondi, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: J E Morvin
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Yabesh
authors.affiliation: PG and Research Department of Botany and Microbiology, A.V.V.M. Sri Pushpam College (Autonomous) Poondi, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Prabhu
authors.affiliation: PG and Research Department of Botany and Microbiology, A.V.V.M. Sri Pushpam College (Autonomous) Poondi, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ayyanar
authors.affiliation: PG and Research Department of Zoology AVVM Sri Pushpam College (Autonomous) Poondi Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Damodaran
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue; D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D001842:Bone and Bones; D004531:Eggs; D020834:Ethnopharmacology; D005241:Feathers; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008460:Meat; D008519:Medicine, Traditional / Q000379:methods*
keywords: Ethnozoology; Fidelity level (FL); Informant consensus factor (ICF); Silent Valley; Traditional healers; Zootherapy