• Joann Fernandez on the primate nursery being built at the DWC Rehabilitation Centre in Attidiya

Monkeys are a vastly misunderstood animal in Sri Lanka, with many considering them a menace or nuisance, despite species such as the purple-faced langur facing a decline in population. The purple-faced langur is listed in ‘Primates in Peril: The World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates 2022-2023’, published by IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group (PSG), International Primatological Society (IPS), and Re:wild.

The sub-species western purple-faced langur or nestor, which resides in the Western Province, is on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as a critically endangered species with a decreasing population. The lack of awareness about these primates further threatens their survival, with an increased threat of death from air rifles added to common causes such as electrocution and troop fights.

These threats result in many infants and juveniles losing their mothers and sustaining injuries or contracting various diseases. Such primates are nursed back to health at the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) Rehabilitation Centre in Attidiya. Here, they must share a nursery with other animals, which isn’t ideal for many reasons.

However, The Wildlife and Forest Conservation Trust, headed by Joann Fernandez, is determined to change this and is in the process of building Sri Lanka’s first specialised nursery for primates. During a visit to the Attidiya centre, The Daily Morning Brunch had the opportunity to see the soon-to-be completed first phase of the project and learn about its importance from Fernandez.

A threatened species

Fernandez’s involvement in wildlife isn’t recent. Following a decision to move away from the corporate sector, Fernandez shifted to the mental health field. While pursuing a degree in psychology, she began volunteering at the Attidiya centre in 2018, following a lifelong love for wildlife.

“While I was volunteering here, I realised that the nestor is an endemic species. A lot of people don’t even know that they’re endemic or critically endangered,” she explained.

Fernandez explained that many people will point out that their neighbourhoods are visited by troops of five monkeys, a lot in their opinion. However, Fernandez said: “But there was a time not so long ago that a troop would consist of 20 to 30 members, whereas now a good troop would consist of about 10. Most of the time you’ll only see a troop of about five. The death rate is so high.”

The western purple-faced langur is endangered mainly because of urbanisation. While the air rifle has become one of its biggest threats, electrocution is another concern as power cables are not properly insulated – the lack of trees force nestors to run on these power cables. They also face a shortage of food, which worsens the human-monkey conflict.

Troop fights are another major threat to this species. Urbanisation has resulted in a lack of forestry, forcing troops too close to each other. When fights break out, monkeys end up injured or dead, their infants orphaned.

It is these infants and juveniles who have lost their mothers that can be found at the Attidiya centre. However, sharing a nursery with other species means the space is cramped. “There’s also a risk of cross-contamination because they’re not on their mother’s milk, so their immunity is low. And because their immune systems are already weak and they’ve been through trauma, they get sick very easily,” Fernandez said.

This is what inspired her to build a separate, specialised nursery for the species, highlighting our personal responsibility in protecting the country’s wildlife.

A specialised nursery

The project for Sri Lanka’s first specialised nursery for primates is being carried out in three phases. The first phase, nearing completion, is being funded by Nirmal Madanayake, who said: “Supporting the rehabilitation of these incredible creatures is not just about saving monkeys, it’s about restoring the balance in the ecosystem they belong to.”

This support has secured funds for a room, a juvenile enclosure, and play area. “The thinking behind this is secluding them; having the juveniles close to the healthy infants so that they can interact and for good bacteria to be transmitted from the juveniles to the healthy infants; mental stimulation; getting sunlight; and having the ability to climb trees and move around freely and yet be secure in their surroundings, which they need. Even though they are milk-drinking, they need that exercise,” Fernandez explained.

The remainder of the nursery will consist of two more rooms for the infants, one a sick room and the other a quarantine room. This is important because while some infants seem fine when they are brought to the centre, they may be carrying with them an illness which could infect the other monkeys. A quarantine room will prevent the spread of disease.

The nursery will also have staff quarters, a kitchen, and additional room for a laboratory, which the centre currently doesn’t have. The nursery’s indoor area will control the temperature to suit the infant monkeys’ needs, as they would usually cling to their mothers for warmth.

The space was designed by architect Jimuth Kadurugamuwa and the construction is being carried out by JCK Construction. The plan has been approved by the Department of Wildlife Conservation.

In-depth discussions with DWC veterinary surgeon for the Western wildlife region Dr. Suhada Jayawardana gave the team a better understanding of the centre’s requirements, while experience of working with the species aided the design of the nursery.

While Kate, a fellow volunteer at the Attidiya centre and a veterinary nurse, has helped out, and Madanayake has funded the first phase, finding funding for the remainder of the project is Fernandez’s main concern now.

Protecting our primates

Speaking about her experience volunteering for the DWC centre in Attidiya, Fernandez praised Dr. Jayawardana’s work, saying he was genuinely passionate about caring for animals. She added that while the DWC is often criticised by the public, they are faced with a mammoth task with very little facilities and resources.

“The staff here, they don’t have many facilities, but they still go out of their way to do a lot of things for the animals. That is a great thing because you see their passion, you see that they truly care. It’s a tough battle and it’s very emotional,” she said.

Fernandez pointed out that while some monkeys recover and are released to the wild, others don’t survive, making their work heartbreaking.

Taking time from a busy day of preparing monkeys to be released back into the wild, Dr. Jayawardana explained that depending on the age and condition of the monkey, they usually spend 1.5-2 years at the facility. This is because infants must reach a certain level of growth before they can survive on their own, escaping from adult males.

When the infants are nursed back to health and are old enough to survive in the wild, the department releases them, mainly in the Labugama Kalatuwawa Forest Reserve. This is because other reserves, such as those in Bellanwila, Attidiya, Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte, and Horagolla, are smaller in size and are mainly marshland.

“The Labugama Kalatuwawa Forest Reserve is about 2,000 hectares. It’s a somewhat larger habitat and can hold several troops,” Dr. Jayawardana said.

When asked how the new facilities will help their work in nursing nestor infants and juveniles, Dr. Jayawardana said the nursery will prevent contamination between the various species sharing the current nursery. He explained that nestors are canopy dwellers, which means that they do not pick grass from the ground and are thus not exposed to the germs and bacteria on the ground.

This makes them vulnerable to infection when they aren’t in their natural habitat – a situation made worse by their lack of maternal immunity.

However, the new facilities will give them a safer environment, with necessary warmth.

Urging the protection of nestors, Fernandez said that humans tend to not realise they share this land with monkeys and other animals. This is why humans chase away, even with the use of air rifles, monkeys who eat the fruit in their garden or run across their roofs. “But there are other ways of mitigating the problem, like having some big trees around or maybe having a cable running across that will assist the monkeys to cross over,” she suggested.

“We have to be mindful of protecting everything, and not just the people, that is around us, because they are such a big part of the ecosystem,” she said, pointing out that the purple-faced langur is a protected species in Sri Lanka, making it a punishable offence to harm them.