Rilawa, Rilewa, Temple monkey
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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OmnivoreAn omnivore is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and ani...
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FrugivoreA frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts, and seeds. Approx...
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HerbivoreA herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example, foliage, for the main component of its die...
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ArborealArboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some anima...
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AltricialAltricial animals are those species whose newly hatched or born young are relatively immobile. They lack hair or down, are not able to obtain food ...
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ZoochoryZoochory animals are those that can disperse plant seeds in several ways. Seeds can be transported on the outside of vertebrate animals (mostly mam...
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Island endemicIsland endemic animals are found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island. Animals or organisms that are indigenous to a place ar...
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ScansorialScansorial animals are those that are adapted to or specialized for climbing. Many animals climb not only in tress but also in other habitats, such...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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TerritorialA territory is a sociographical area that which an animal consistently defends against the conspecific competition (or, occasionally, against anima...
Among animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
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PolygynandryPolygynandry is a mating system in which both males and females have multiple mating partners during a breeding season.
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Dominance hierarchyA dominance hierarchy (formerly and colloquially called a pecking order) is a type of social hierarchy that arises when members of animal social gr...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withThis smallest macaque is a native Sri Lankan species with a golden-brown fur. The local people call Toque Macaque the “Rilawa”. The most characteristic feature of this primate is the toque-like swirl of hair on its head top. As a matter of fact, their physiological characteristics vary greatly, depending on climatic conditions. Thus, populations in cooler climate exhibit thick, dark brown coat as well as relatively short limbs and tails. Meanwhile, those inhabiting lowland rainforests typically display reddish or golden fur and longer bonnets. Populations in drier habitats have lighter fur, noticeably longer legs and tails as well as shorter swirl of hair on their head.
The Toque macaques are native and endemic exclusively to Sri Lanka, where they generally occupy three types of habitat, hence can be divided into three subspecies. These are: the Common toque macaque, occurring in dry habitat; the Pale-fronted toque macaque, inhabiting wet areas; and the Hill-zone toque macaque, found at high elevations.
These primates are generally tree-dwelling creatures. The Toque macaques are highly social animals, living in units of up to 40 individuals, which remain in the group for a long period of time. However, young males are known to occasionally move between groups. As a general rule, these social units contain twice as many females as males. Each group consists of 50% mature individuals and 50% infants and juveniles. Individuals of both genders have certain responsibilities within a group. Males are the leaders of the groups, settling conflicts between juveniles, whereas females raise offspring. The Toque macaques live in a well-defined dominance hierarchy system, where the oldest male is usually the most dominant one, followed by lower-ranked members of the community: sub-adult males, adult females and then juveniles. As diurnal animals, the Toque macaques perceive their environment mainly through vision, which is even used to identify a food source. A large part of their active time is spent looking for food.
As omnivorous species, the Toque macaques consume food of both animal and plant origin. They have a rather diverse diet, primarily consisting of fruits, tree flowers, buds, and leaves and supplemented with birds, lizards and small invertebrates. The rest of their diet is composed of occasional crop, including rice, cocoa, and coconut. Although they obtain a part of required moisture from their food, during the dry season they travel to watering holes every day, drinking enough amount of water to sustain them.
Toque macaques are polygynandrous (promiscuous) with both males and females, mating with multiple partners. These primates breed during the summer months, generally from July to September, although breeding period largely depends on geographical range. Gestation period lasts for 5 - 6 months, yielding one infant, which is cared mainly by its mother. Females form groups of infants so that young can play together and socialize. Usually, young of the same age play together. Overall, females of this species are known to be very attentive mothers, protecting their offspring from threats. Infants are weaned at 170 days and become independent at 2 years of age. Females are ready to bread at 5 years of age, while males become reproductively mature at 7 years of age.
The biggest threat to the population of this species is wood-cutting, leading to considerably damage and loss of their natural habitat. Localized threats include capture of Toque macaques for pet trade.
The IUCN Red List and other sources don’t provide the number of the Toque macaques’ total population. Currently, this species is classified as Endangered (EN) and its numbers continue to decrease.
These macaques affect the local ecosystem in many ways. For example, an average group of Toque macaques is known to consume up to 1% of all yearly fruit production of their range. Due to their fruit-based diet, these animals also act as important seed dispersers of some fruiting plants. Feeding upon small lizards and birds, they control population numbers of these animals. The Toque macaques share their habitat with two monkey species: the Hanuman langurs and purple-faced langurs. The Toque macaques can frequently be seen together with these monkeys without any competition for food, since they have different diets. While Toque macaques are generally frugivorous animals, both of the monkey species have a leaf-based diet.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...