Monkey Gossip Exclusive: Loops, Love & Kalawewa Drama

The September Showdown

From the mango groves of Kalawewa comes a story that has the monkey world buzzing. Senior Prof. Ashoka Dangolla of the Peradeniya University Vet Faculty is preparing to introduce a brand-new, locally made, small-sized loop into the lives — and wombs — of female monkeys. This September, the first field trial will test whether a Sri Lankan-designed contraceptive can keep both monkey numbers and local farm damage under control.

The Loop Love Triangle

This isn’t the professor’s first dance with the loop. In an earlier trial, five lady monkeys received imported T-shaped loops from India. Two of them, unimpressed by the arrangement, quickly expelled their devices. Three remained loyal, giving the project a 60 percent success rate.

Import Affairs and Local Lovers

The loop romance began with an ordinary human-sized T-shaped device from India, followed by another imported T-type model. But now the spotlight is on a homegrown design — a product of local engineering, made to match monkey anatomy more precisely. The hope is that this will improve retention and reduce the number of loops dramatically ejected into the undergrowth.

The Global Scene

While Kalawewa’s trial is a first for Sri Lanka, it’s far from the first time primates have been pulled into contraceptive drama. In Africa, chimpanzees have been fitted with IUDs that worked almost as well as in humans. In research centers in the United States and Japan, rhesus monkeys have tried spiral and T-type loops, with minimal disruption to their cycles but solid pregnancy prevention. In some macaque populations, scientists skipped loops altogether and went for hormonal implants — tiny sticks under the skin that delivered near-perfect protection for years and could be removed to restore fertility.

Across continents, from research labs to wildlife management projects, primate birth control has been tried, tested, and debated. The twist at Kalawewa is the shift from imported solutions to a device designed and built at home, tailored for the local troop’s anatomy and habits.

Why This Is Big News

Kalawewa’s loop trial is more than just a quirky headline — it’s part of a bigger, global conversation about how humans manage primate populations without resorting to culling. If the local loop proves a success, Sri Lanka could join the ranks of countries pioneering non-lethal, science-driven population control, with a design that could even travel beyond its borders. Whether the monkeys embrace or reject their new accessories, the outcome could ripple far beyond the mango plantation.