Cover story: Mother's love

Our staff photographer Mahinda Vithanachchi captured this cute photograph of a baby monkey in the loving embrace of its mother. Whether we accept evolutionary theory or not, monkeys are the closest relative to humans in the evolutionary tree. Their behaviour and comical facial expressions remind us of our moods.

From the suburbs of Colombo to the remotest parts of Sri Lanka you can spot monkeys of many different types, the most common being the Toque Macaque or better known as the "Temple monkey". The others are Hanuman langur (aka grey langur), Purple faced langur, and the slender Loris which is rare and difficult to spot due to its nocturnal habits. Monkeys are commonly referred to as Wanduro in Sri Lanka and the Toque Macaque as Rilawo while the Loris is known as Unahapuluwa in Sinhala.

Toque Macaque (Macaca sinica sinica and Macaca sinica aurifrons) is the most common primate in Sri Lanka distributed evenly throughout the island from the coastal plains to the central hills.

Macaque is a reddish brown monkey with a whitish underbelly and slender limbs. The name Toque comes from its toque shaped whorl of hair on its head, much like a bonnet. It is usually seen in troops of 10 to 20 led by a dominant male.

-Internet