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[9] [7] Many of the villagers that lived around the western purple-faced langurs were Buddhists, and believed that the monkeys should be protected due to their roles in the environment, however some believed in the preservation of the animal solely for religious meaning. [7] Also the Sri Lanka Forest Department is undertaking a project to ...
Pushed out of forest habitat, toque macaques are considered a "menace" by farmers. [10] They were used by both Sri Lanka Army and Tamil Tigers as target practice during the Sri Lankan Civil War. [2] The Sri Lankan government proposed exporting 100,000 monkeys to China but scrapped the effort after conservationists and zoologists protested. [11]
The purple-faced langur (Semnopithecus vetulus), [1] also known as the purple-faced leaf monkey, is a species of Old World monkey that is endemic to Sri Lanka.The animal is a long-tailed arboreal species, identified by a mostly brown appearance, dark face (with paler lower face) and a very shy nature.
Macaques are found in a variety of habitats throughout the Asian continent and are highly adaptable. Certain species are synanthropic , having learned to live alongside humans, but they have become problematic in urban areas in Southeast Asia and are not suitable to live with, as they can carry transmittable diseases.
The park is an important habitat for the two endemic monkeys of Sri Lanka: purple-faced langur and toque macaque. [4] Large herbivorous mammals such as Sri Lankan sambar deer and Sri Lankan axis deer frequent the park. Rare and endangered species such as Sri Lankan leopard and Sri Lankan sloth bear inhabit in Minneriya.
The Indian subspecies is somewhat larger bodied than the Sri Lankan which typically weigh between 6.8 and 13.4 kg (15 and 30 lb). [6] Despite its somewhat slighter size there, the tufted gray langur is the largest native primate on Sri Lanka based on average sizes. [7]
Sun Wukong (the "Monkey King"), a character who figures prominently in Chinese mythology, is the protagonist in the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West. Monkeys are prevalent in numerous books, television programs, and movies. The television series Monkey and the literary characters Monsieur Eek and Curious George are all examples.
The park is inhabited by a herd of 150 Sri Lankan elephants. Marsh elephant (Elephas maximus vil-aliya) roams in the Mahaweli River area. Both monkeys found in the park, purple-faced langur and toque macaque, are endemic to Sri Lanka. While water buffalo and Sri Lankan axis deer are common to observe, Sri Lanka leopard and sloth bear are rare.