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Distribution
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Subsaharan Africa
Open landscapes such as savannah woodland in wet, dry or mountainous regions
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Behaviour
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Vervet monkeys have very adaptable behaviour and are able to exploit humans to help themselves to survive. They will scavenge or steal food from farms, rubbish bins or tourists. They are day living (diurnal) and spend time both on the ground and in the trees. They tend to travel by walking on all four feet (quadrupedal) on the ground. They prefer to sleep in the yellow acacia or fever trees (Acacia xanthophloea) found near water. They may walk for one to two kilometres a day in search of food. Females control access to food and high ranking group members are allowed to eat first. A lot of time is spent grooming, this helps to reinforce social bonds between group members. The young monkeys in a troop are normally very active and spend most of their time playing. Running, jumping, climbing, chasing and play fighting helps them to learn the skills they need to survive.
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Reproduction
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This species have a limited breeding season which is dependent on the abundance of food. Normally breeding occurs at around March to June. Gestation (pregnancy) lasts about 23 weeks. A single offspring is produced by each female in a year. The offspring begin to eat solid food at around 3 months but are not fully independent of their mothers until 8 to 9 months old. Sexual maturity is reached at just 4 to 5 months although they do not normally reproduce until around 5 years old. During this time the young continue to grow. We are no longer breeding our troop.
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Appearance
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The taxonomy (scientific classification) of this species is highly disputed and up to 22 different subspecies (types) of vervet monkey have been described. They have the same general appearance with some variation in the colour of the fur on their back, outer limbs and the crown of the head. This can vary from yellowy-green to silvery-grey agouti. The name 'vervet' means green coat in French. The hands, feet, face, ears and tip of the tail are black or brown. The belly, inner arms, eyebrows and whiskers are cream coloured. Males can be easily identified by their vivid blue and red genitals and they are a little bit larger.
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Size
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Weight: 2.7 kg
Length: 100 cm from nose to tip of tail
Males are normally 10% to 30% larger than females
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Social Structure
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Vervet monkeys live in large groups of 5 to 76 individuals containing multiple males and females. Young females remain with their natal (birth) group so they are all related. Young males emigrate from their natal group and join neighbouring troops to prevent them breeding with their relatives. The males and the females both have an obvious hierarchy in which the alpha male is dominant to the alpha female. Males compete for dominance and the alpha (top) male will get to breed with most of the females.
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Territory Defence
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Vervet monkeys have a home range from 180 - 960 square kilometres in size depending on the size of the troop.
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Diet
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This species is omnivorous and eats a large variety of food. They forage for fruit, seeds, grasses, leaves, insects, reptiles, birds and mammals. They are opportunistic and will vary their diet depending upon where they live. They will scavenge and steal human food.
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Activity Period
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Vervet monkeys, like all monkeys, are active during the day (diurnal) as they do not have good night vision.
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Predators
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The variety of wildlife in Africa means that these monkeys have a huge number of predators including cats, hyenas, snakes and eagles. They have three predator alarm calls and responses; they climb trees for carnivores, look up for birds of prey and look on the ground for snakes.
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Conservation Status
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IUCN Red List: Not listed
CITES: Not listed
Population estimate: Unknown
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Threats
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This species is highly adaptable and not currently threatened by human activity.
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Vervet Monkeys at the Zoo
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Boris, Hercules, Mumsie, Hendrix, Africa, Solo and Black Hands
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Vervet Monkeys available for adoption
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Sorry, there are no Vervet Monkeys available to adopt. back to top
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