Macaca sinica
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The toque macaque (Macaca sinica) is a reddish-brown-coloured Old World monkey endemic to Sri Lanka, where it is known as the riḷawā (Sinhala: රිළවා), (hence the English word rillow). Its name refers to the whorl of hair at the crown of the head, reminiscent of a brimless toque cap.
The generic name Macaca is from Portuguese macaco, of unclear origin, while sinica means "of China," even though the species is not found there. There are three recognized subspecies of toque macaques: Macaca sinica sinica, dry zone toque macaque or common toque macaque
Macaca sinica aurifrons, wet zone toque macaque or pale-fronted toque macaque Macaca sinica opisthomelas, highland toque macaque or hill zone toque macaque M. s. opisthomelas is similar to subsp. aurifrons, but has a long fur and contrasting golden color in the anterior part of its brown cap.
The three subspecies can be identified their head colour patterns. With age, the face of females turns slightly pink. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wilpattu National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 2 | Udawalawe National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 3 | Horton Plains National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 4 | Yala National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 5 | Minneriya National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 6 | Sinharaja Forest Reserve | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nashville Zoo at Grassmere | 🇺🇸 United States |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Toque Macaque sighting in Minneriya National Park on a given day, based on 490 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 18 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March and November
In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Toque Macaque in Minneriya National Park on a given day, against about 30% in June and December, the lowest months. Those are among Minneriya National Park's wettest months, with about 200 mm of rain a month against 20 mm in June.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Toque Macaque sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Toque Macaque sightings, Minneriya National Park ranks 5th at about 50%. The best odds are in Wilpattu National Park (Sri Lanka, about 80%), Udawalawe National Park (Sri Lanka, about 60%) and Horton Plains National Park (Sri Lanka, about 50%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Cercopithecidae
The closest relatives of the Toque Macaque that you can see in Minneriya National Park (family Cercopithecidae, Old World Monkeys) are Tufted Langur (about 40%) and Purple-faced Lutung (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Toque Macaque is recorded against all the mammals logged in Minneriya National Park (490 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
