Call to declare white monkeys as conservation icons

By Shanika SRIYANANDA

Following a 'tip off' by villagers, two toddy tappers entered Sri Lanka's virgin forest-Sinharaja with trepidation. Clad in sarong and bare bodied they carefully strode through the gloomy forest cover surrounded by the Watugala village.On the third day in the village, they were able to catch a glimpse of what they were looking for. They saw the two 'snow balls' emerging from the dark green canopy. The images e-mailed to their headquarters in Galle showing that their prediction of white primates living in Sri Lanka was successful.Hidden for over 330 years from human eyes. It was the first sighting recorded on camera.

White monkeys are inhabitants of Sri Lanka. With evidence that the Southern purple-faced leaf languor (Semnopithecus vetulus vetulus) are living in Sinharaja, Wildlife Conservation Society Galle (WCSG)kicked off its extensive survey, funded by Nations Trust Bank, in the southwestern districts of Galle and Matara, in the wet zone.Though they are miracles of nature, the innocent creatures face grave threat from their predators as they are visible due to their white coat when they are in green canopies. "They are more vulnerable than their black coated counterparts due to the natural predators especially leopards and the black eagle".

The two researchers - Rohan Krishantha and Sampath Gunasinghe- clad in camouflage T-shirts and denims walked miles s in the thick forest but failed to get any clue about the special primates. " Finally we decided to disguise ourselves as toddy tappers in the villages. It was amazing they didn't run away. Normally, monkeys are very intelligent, very shy and from far away they have the capability of identifying unknown visitors. Especially, juveniles, females carrying babies, which are very protective, are very shy", Madhura de Silva of the WCSG said.During their one and three-months long association with white monkeys, they have studied about twenty-six troops (the number of white monkeys differs in each troop) and identity numbers - T1 (Troop 1) and I1 (Individual 1) given to each white monkey according to their body structure, special marks on the body and face and place where they were encountered. Madura said troops were allocated a troop ID and individual group members were numbered. " T18-I5, for example, is a white alpha male in group T18 situated near Wathugala. The initial sighting was followed by an intensive period of study of at least 15 days and up to 25 days, until each individual was identified and separate ID cards were produced for each group member.

The ID cards entail a unique number and an annotated sketch with identifiable markings. In the typical dark colour morph individuals, the pelage characters allowed sex determination of adult individuals. Sub-adult and infant females do not exhibit the identifiable white pubic patch, therefore sexing of younger individuals was only possible if the gonads were visible.

The white colour morph adults were also sexed using this method or occasionally sex could be determined during mating. Age (adult, sub-adult, infant) was estimated based on body size", he said adding that out of 42 white monkeys observed in 26 troops, monkeys belonging to five troops were used to make research work easy and to have close encounters.

The WCSG research team comprising Madhura de Silva, Nadika Hapuarachchi, Rohan Krishantha, Sampath Gunasinghe, Tharanga Aluthwala and Sajeewa Wijeweera studied extensively and referred to literature about the history and locations of white monkeys living in Sri Lanka.

According to recorded history in 1681, Robert Knox in his book 'Historical Relations of Ceylon' had mentioned about Sri Lanka's white monkeys found in Ratnapura in 1653 and also E.Tent, a science writer who was in Sri Lanka, has mentioned about them found in Ambepussa area in his book 'Matured History of Ceylon in 1861'."According to historical data we knew that Sri Lanka's White Monkeys are not albinos, but were a different group.

The information given by the toddy tappers in the Watugala village was clearly evident that these primates were inhabitants of the Sinharaja rain forest. They are endemic to Sri Lanka and listed as endangered in the Red List 2011 of the World Conservation Union (IUCN).

They are represented by four allopatric subspecies from different geographical zones but in our research we focussed only on the southern purple-faced leaf langur", Madhura said.

The researchers began collecting data from 2010 based at the Hiyare Rainforest Reserve and their habitat was categorised as tea plantations, home gardens, or rainforests. Madhura said in their research, the information about white monkeys given by villagers, mainly toddy tappers, were helpful in the planning process and they valued any knowledge about their environment.

The newly found monkeys have white bodies and limbs, sometimes with ashy patches, and as white tails.

Under-parts have pink and yellow skin tones visible through white hair, and hands and feet are similarly pink and yellow toned with black patches.

The head has white or off-white whiskers, the throat patch and hair around the mouth are also white and the crown is beige to ashy brown hair.

The naked parts of the face and ears are black and eyes have a golden brown iris, as with the standard colour morph.

Madhura said there is no evidence to suggest that they were albinos as all white individuals have a black face, none of the white individuals have red eyes, and all the white individuals have an ashy brown crown of hair.

" Among the Colombo National Museum primate collection a pale-coloured specimen was collected by Phillips from the Matara District as early as 1923 and gives evidence that a slight degree of colour diversity among the Southern purple-faced leaf languor is not uncharacteristic.

He said although troops - T6 to T22- were found around the protected area of the Sinharaja Rainforest Reserve, the majority were outside the protected regions and 73 percent of the 26 troops were recorded from the rainforest, 19 percent were from home gardens and the remaining eight percent were found in both- rainforest and home gardens.

Over a quarter of the rainforest troops inhabited home ranges that bordered tea plantations."In total, 30 individuals were recorded displaying the newly documented white colour morph (two alpha males, 14 adults of which 13 were females, 8 sub-adults, and 5 infants). Combinations of

a white mother and white infant and white mother with a standard coloured infant were recorded", he explained.Madhura said they recorded 49 injuries and 33 deaths of White monkeys caused by electrocution due to the use of power lines during road crossing.

The WCSG urges the government to take immediate action to protect the white colour morph, which is still a rarity, and under threat of poaching. "Only two percent of undisturbed forest remains in Sri Lanka's wet zone, and forest cover continuously declines.

Lowland tea plantations in the south often border rainforest and encroachment may cause further habitat loss for white monkeys.Madhura said although the country's law protects monkeys, conserving them is not a priority of the Departments- Forestry, Wildlife, Environment, Agriculture, and Urban Planning.

" They will face a serious struggle to survive in future, if national policies are not actively implemented to ensure the protection of these species.

He said it remains vital that the Southern Province authorities recognise the sheer economic value of high biodiversity in terms of sustained tourism and implement strict borders and surveillance on forest reserves such as the Sinharaja.

According to Madhura, this research is being carried out to ascertain as to how they got white coats.

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Miracles in the world of nature...

-The WCSG requests the government to name the White monkeys as conservation icons of the Sinharaja Rainforest. They said the rare species like white lions and black bears have been declared as conservation icons and will help to attract more visitors to their national parks. The internationally famed success stories of conserving the much-celebrated White Lions of Timbavarti and the White or Spirit Bears of British Colombia became a success as they were declared as conservation icons. “

These animals which naturally appear in the wild are considered nothing short of miracles in the natural world and have acquired iconic status thanks to the effort of conservationists. The public appeal and the interest created by these white morph animals has been very successfully used to achieve conservation victories over commercial interests, thus preserving the natural habitat they live in and thereby preserving a multitude of other unique forms of flora and fauna”, Madhura said.

He said a black tiger was also found in the Sinharaja forest a year ago but it was found dead in a nearby village later. “ We strongly believe that there are black tigers in the forest and with the sighting of white monkeys, we request the authorities to name this unique primate as an icon of Sinharaja, which is a home to many other rare gifts of nature.

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