From leopard faeces to dogs disguised as big cats, Sri Lankans look to deter crop-raiding monkeys

As Sri Lanka grapples with severe agricultural losses caused by wildlife species ranging from primates to peafowl, in March, the government launched a nationwide, five-minute rapid visual census or a RVC, inviting citizens – farmers, students and officials in particular – to count monkeys, giant squirrels and peafowl simultaneously across the island.

The count was described as the first attempt at a large-scale citizen-science effort in Sri Lanka to identify the extent of crop damage caused by wildlife.

The results disclosed by the Ministry of Agriculture’s research arm, the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute, were striking, as it listed 6.5 million monkeys (more than 5.1 million of toque macaques, Macaca sinica, and 1.4 million tufted grey langurs, Semnopithecus priam), 2.7 million giant squirrels (Ratufa macroura) and 4.7 million Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus).

With a national human population of 23 million, the figures suggest almost one monkey for every 3.5 people; a ratio that many conservationists called ecologically implausible.

In response, the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society, a premier conservation nonprofit, noted that the short time frame, reliance on volunteers and open reporting format left the survey prone to serious errors, including double-counting, misidentification and exaggeration.

Wildlife ecologist Rajnish Vandercone of the University of Peradeniya warned against publicising such unverified figures without scientific scrutiny as irresponsible action, especially given that some Sri Lankan primates are endangered under IUCN listings.

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