Endemic primates the purple faced langur and telling the monkeys apart what will I see and where

Naturalist so let me introduce you to the primates of Sri Lanka there are several and telling them apart is rewarding The main ones you will see TOQUE MACAQUE (endemic the rilawa) the cheeky reddish brown monkey with a distinctive whorl or cap of hair on its head these are the bold ones at temples sites and raiding the breakfast table common and entertaining but do not feed them (the monkey threads) GREY or TUFTED LANGUR (the hanuman langur the wanderoo) larger grey long limbed long tailed elegant and generally more mellow than the macaques often seen in troops at the dry zone sites (Sigiriya Polonnaruwa Anuradhapura) PURPLE FACED LANGUR (endemic and special) this is the one to seek a striking dark almost black bodied langur with a dark purple black face and distinctive whitish or grey whiskers and a shy arboreal nature it is ENDEMIC to Sri Lanka and several subspecies are THREATENED (habitat loss) it is more elusive than the macaque living in the forest canopy SLENDER LORIS (the tiny nocturnal primate) the wide eyed night creature you seek on a night walk (the loris night walk threads) Telling macaque from langur quick guide MACAQUE smaller reddish brown bold ground and human area raider cap of hair LANGUR larger grey or dark long tailed more arboreal and graceful the PURPLE FACED is the dark bodied pale whiskered endemic langur Where to see the purple faced langur the WET ZONE and hill country forests are the stronghold (the rainforests like Sinharaja the hill country forests and even some leafy suburban Colombo and Kandy areas and forest patches have troops) look UP into the canopy in forested areas a guide helps you find and identify them the dry zone sites give you the macaques and grey langurs easily Appreciating them properly observe do not feed keep distance especially from the bold macaques (feeding creates aggressive raiders) and treasure a sighting of the shy endemic purple faced langur in the trees so you will meet the bold endemic toque macaque the elegant grey langur at the dry zone sites and if you look up in the wet zone and hill forests the special endemic purple faced langur plus the nocturnal loris by night appreciate them at a respectful distance and never feed them