WNPS urges caution over monkey numbers

THE Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS) has urged caution over monkey population numbers reported by the Agriculture Ministry last week.

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WNPS in a statement said it supports the use of data-driven decision-making to mitigate human-wildlife conflict. When carefully designed and implemented, Rapid Visual Censuses (RVC) can serve as a cost-effective starting point to highlight areas of concern. WNPS has been advocating the need for spatial occurrence data of species for years to ensure correct scientific management.

That said, WNPS encourages caution in interpreting the findings of the recent RVC due to several methodological limitations commonly associated with broad-based citizen surveys:

Training requirements: Wildlife

Population surveys typically require some level of training in species identification and data collection methods to ensure consistency and accuracy. Sri Lanka's Toque Macaque and Grey Langur belong to several sub species. Therefore, numbers not reflecting those vital data can be misleading