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 40% of wildlife watchers report a Toque Macaque sighting in Sinharaja Forest Reserve on a given day, based on 96 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 3rd most-seen of the 8 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.
February
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Toque Macaque in Sinharaja Forest Reserve on a given day, against about 20% in October, the lowest month. That is one of Sinharaja Forest Reserve's driest months, with about 150 mm of rain against 490 mm in November.
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.
6th of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Toque Macaque sightings, Sinharaja Forest Reserve ranks 6th at about 40%. 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.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Toque Macaque is recorded against all the mammals logged in Sinharaja Forest Reserve (96 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.
