Rapid Fire
Sri Lanka Tests IUDs Contraceptives on Monkeys
- 07 Aug 2024
- 1 min read
Sri Lanka is testing Intrauterine Devices (IUDs) on female toque macaques to control their population, estimated at around 3 million.
- An Intrauterine Device (IUDs) is a small contraceptive device that is put into the uterus (womb) to prevent pregnancy.
- IUDs Types: The copper IUD and the hormonal IUD, sold under the brand names Mirena and Kyleena.
- This action follows the government's earlier decision to provide shotguns to farmers to address crop damage and to abandon a contentious plan to export monkeys to China.
- Experts doubt that contraception alone will effectively reduce monkey populations, emphasising that controlling monkey populations also requires banning the feeding of wild monkeys, as access to human food boosts their survival and reproduction.
- Toque Macaque (Macaca sinica) is a reddish-brown-coloured Old World monkey endemic to Sri Lanka.
- IUCN Status: Endangered
- They are mostly frugivorous (fruit eating), diurnal animals (active in daytime).
