Monkey Helpline

ABOUT VERVET MONKEYS

The monkeys you encounter around your home or on your farm will in all likelihood be Vervets, easily distinguished by a black face and prominent white brow. They live in close-knit troops of 5 – 30 individuals, led and protected by the dominant male, within a fixed territory which the females never leave from birth till death and carry information about the territory from one generation to the next. Males leave the troop when they become sexually mature and are nomadic till they are able to take over another troop by evicting that troop’s alpha male. Evicted males also lead nomadic lives. Mature females weigh between 3.5 and 6 kilograms, and mature males between 5 and 7 kilograms.

Females give birth to a single baby after a five-month pregnancy and most are born during the period October to December. Only some females in the troop have a baby in any given year. Studies have shown that due to the high infant mortality rate only one out of every four babies lives to adulthood.

What they eat.

Mostly they eat fruit, flowers, seeds, leaves, bark, new shoots and grasses. They are opportunistic feeders and occasionally also eat insects, birds’ eggs, nestlings, small lizards, etc., as well as anything else edible that they find in and around peoples’ homes or in gardens and croplands. By planting indigenous trees, shrubs and flowers that provide Vervets with natural food and shelter around our homes, parks, schools and other open areas such as sports grounds and golf courses, the negative impact of these little animals on our lives can be minimized.

Is there a population explosion?

Definitely not! The fact is that Vervets are under severe threat as never before and their numbers are undoubtedly on the decline. Natural areas suitable for them are rapidly being eroded away by commercial, industrial, residential and agricultural development, forcing them to live in ever-decreasing areas, making them more visible and creating the illusion that their numbers are increasing.

Each troop of Vervets lives within its own territory. During daily foraging, troops often separate into a number of foraging groups so creating the false impression that more than one troop occupies a particular area. The troop will reunite into one group prior to roosting for the night. Where territorial boundaries overlap there is a small area common to both troops, and this is where inter-troop skirmishes occur.

Natural predators have been exterminated in many areas. However, these have been replaced by lethal, human-related dangers such as motor cars, dogs, electrocution on power lines, shooting and poisoning, trapping for food and muti (traditional medicine) and use in local and foreign research laboratories. These are non-selective resulting in a very high number of unnatural deaths.