<h1 class="ql-align-center"><strong style="color: rgb(230, 0, 0);">Toque Macaques</strong></h1><p class="ql-align-center"><br></p><h3><strong>Context&nbsp;</strong></h3><ul><li class="ql-indent-1">Zoologists and conservationists in <strong>Sri Lanka</strong> slammed a recent government proposal exploring the export of monkeys to China, terming it an ad hoc, illegal, and short­sighted response to a long standing human­ ani­mal conflict.</li><li class="ql-indent-1">Sri Lanka is planning to export 1,00,000 toque macaques to China.</li></ul><h3><strong>About&nbsp;</strong></h3><ul><li class="ql-indent-1">The toque macaque is endemic to Sri Lanka.</li><li class="ql-indent-1">It is reddish-brown-coloured.&nbsp;</li><li class="ql-indent-1">The most characteristic feature is the toque-like swirl of hair on its head top.</li><li class="ql-indent-1"><strong>The Sri Lankan Toque Macaques (Macaca sinica) </strong>are the smallest species of Macaca, a golden-brown coloured monkey, endemic to Sri Lanka.</li><li class="ql-indent-1">They are native and endemic exclusively to Sri Lanka.</li></ul><h3><strong>Threat&nbsp;</strong></h3><ul><li class="ql-indent-1">The major threat to these species is extreme habitat loss and habitat fragmentation due to development and urbanization.</li></ul><h3><strong>Conservation status&nbsp;</strong></h3><ul><li class="ql-indent-1"><strong>IUCN- Endangered</strong></li><li class="ql-indent-1"><strong>CITES - Appendix II</strong></li><li class="ql-indent-1">However, it enjoys very little protection as it is considered to be a pest to crops such as coconut etc.</li></ul><p class="ql-align-center"><br></p><h1 class="ql-align-center"><strong>PRELIMS NOTES:</strong><a href="https://www.sunyaias.com/subscription-details/prelims-2023-sunya-notes-current-affairs" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);"><strong>CLICK HERE</strong></a></h1>