Assessing public perceptions and solutions to human-monkey conflict from 50 years in Sri Lanka

Authors: Dittus, Wolfgang PJ;  Gunathilake,  KA Sunil; Felder, Melissa

Folia Primatologica 90: 89-108. (2019)   DOI: 10.1159/00049602.   Research Article

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Abstract.  Sri Lanka is a biodiversity hotspot with high human density that contributes to increasing human-monkey conflict (HMC). In 50 years of primate studies there, the development of HMC has been documented, and many workshops and interventions organized to ameliorate HMC. These activities prompted the present survey. In the extensive lowland dry zone of Sri Lanka, the affected nonhuman primates are the toque macaque, gray and purple-faced langurs and slender loris. We surveyed and evaluated the attitudes of rural residents towards these four species in an effort to contribute to an ethnoprimatological approach to conservation, i.e., promote a coexistence and sharing of habitat between humans and monkeys. We selected 13 villages near Polonnaruwa, located centrally in the dry zone. The four nonhuman primate species differ in their behavioral ecologies, and this influenced how frequently they were thought of as pests. Most HMC was with the macaque and gray langur, less with the purple-faced langur and least with the loris. The underlying sentiment among stakeholders towards monkeys was generally either neutral or positive. Nonetheless, the majority (80%) of persons desired a translocation of the troublesome monkeys from their properties to protected areas, which is impractical. Few (<1%) openly wanted monkeys destroyed. While a traditional reverence for monkeys provides a solid basis for science and media-based education, it also contributes to the feeding of monkeys and consequent unnatural population growth, and enhanced HMC. Public understanding of the underlying causes of HMC was poor, hindering effective solutions. A combination of a feeding ban, possibly contraceptive intervention […]

Vitamin D status in wild toque macaques (Macaca sinica) in Sri Lanka

American Journal of Primatology 79: e22655. (2017)  Research Article.

Authors:  Power, Michael L, Dittus, Wolfgang PJ

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Abstract
The vitamin D receptor is found on most cells, including active immune cells, implying that vitamin D has important biological functions beyond calcium metabolism and bone health. Although captive primates should be given a dietary source of vitamin D, under free‐living conditions vitamin D is not a required nutrient, but rather is produced in skin when exposed to UV‐B light. The circulating level of 25 hydroxyvitamin D (25‐OH‐D) considered adequate for humans is a topic of current controversy. Levels of circulating 25‐OH‐D sufficient for good health for macaques and other Old World anthropoids are assumed to be the same as human values, but data from free‐living animals are scant. This study reports values for 25‐OH‐D and the active vitamin D metabolite, 1,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D (1,252 D) for wild, forest‐ranging toque macaques (Macaca sinica) in Sri Lanka. Plasma samples were obtained from eight adult males, seven juvenile males, six young nulliparous females, nine adult females not pregnant or lactating, eleven lactating adult females, and four pregnant females. Mean values for the complete sample were 61.3 ± 4.0 ng/ml for 25‐OH‐D and 155.6 ± 8.7 pg/ml for 1,252 D. There were no significant differences for either metabolite among age and sex classes, nor between lactating and non‐reproductive females. Values from the literature for circulating 25‐OH‐D in captive macaques are three times higher than those found in this wild population, however, 1,252 D values in captive animals were similar to the wild values. The data from this study indicate that anthropoid primates exposed to extensive sunlight will have circulating values of 25‐OH‐D generally above 30 ng/ml, providing some support for the Endocrine […]