Toque Macaque

These monkeys are quite common in Sri Lanka, particularly near Sigiriya where the original photo of this character was taken. These creatures look very sweet and endearing when you first see them, particularly with their quirky hairstyles, but there is a good reason why monkeys have a reputation for mischief. Just a few minutes before this photo was taken we had seen one of these macaques literally snatch an ice cream out of the hands of a small child! The theft was so quick that the child’s parents didn’t have time to react – so instead they had to deal with their physically unhurt but completely distraught offspring.

Somehow this portrait has acquired more of a smirk than the original picture, so I am thinking that although the photo was not of the miscreant monkey perhaps it is the macaque thief that I have drawn!