VARVET MONKEYS

 The Vervet monkey or simply vervet is an old world monkey of the cercopithecidae family a native to Africa. The term ‘vervet’ is also used to refer to all the members of the genus chlorocebus.

There different subspecies that are found throughout southern Africa, as well as some of the eastern countries. Vervets were introduced to Cape Verde, Ascension Island and Florida. These herbivorous monkeys have black faces and grey body hair color; they have a length of 40 centimeters for fameless and 40 centiment for males.

Vervet monkeys serve a big role in behavioral research on natural population; they serve as a nonhuman primate for understanding social behaviors of humans. Vervet monkeys have been spotted for their human like-characteristics, such as anxiety,   hypertension and social dependent of alcohol use.

Vervet monkeys live in social groups that range from 10 to 70 individuals, with males that keep changing groups when they reach sexually mature.

 Vervet monkeys communicate and always make alarm calls in regards to their groups, kin and particular predator sightings.

Vervet monkey   is often considered con-specific or a subspecies of the widespread there many vervet species including

Pygerythus from South Africa, Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho

Rufoviridis from Mozambique and Uganda this one has a distinctly reddish-colored back which is dark towards the base of the tail.

Nesiotes                                         

Hilgerti from southern Kenya.

Physical appearance

Vervet monkeys resembles very much like a gray langur, which has black face with a white fringe of hair, although the whole hair on the body is grizzled grey. The species exhibits sexual dimorphismalthou males are larger in weight and body length. Adult males weigh between 4kg and 8kgs, they have a body length between 420 and 6mm, this arranges from the top of the head to the base tail.

 Adult fameless weigh between  4kg to 5kgs and an average ,6kg with a body length between 420 and 600mm,average 490 from the top of the head to base of the tail. Adult females weigh between 4kgs and 6kgs and an average of 5kgs, this measure between 300 and 500mm.

When males reach sexual maturity, they move to the neighboring groups. Males will move in with a brother or peer, this act happens in order of protection against aggression by males and females of the residents group. Groups transfer males significantly less aggression upon the arrival of another male. In almost everycase, males migrate to adjacent groups. This obviously an increases benefit in regards to distance travelled, but also reduces the amount of genetic variance, increasing the likelihood of inbreeding.

Females remain in their family groups throughout their whole life. Males are determined by age, tenure in the group, allies, fighting abilities others depend on social status.

The interaction occurs between individuals that are similarly ranked   and closely related.

The observation suggests individual’s recognition is possible and enables discrimination of genetic social status. There many interactions between different groups available, ranging highly aggressive to friendly. Members are able to recognize cross group vocalization, and identify .Members of the group suggest within a group are actively monitoring the activities of the other including the movement of members with I the family.

The groups are aggressive and directed primarily at individuals that are lower on the hierarchy. An individual who is three years older is always considered to be in loved in many conflicts. the fights usually  rises when one group member shows aggression towards close relative of another .This suggests great recognition which are not only for individuals ,but also of association between group members. This helps to associate with individuals.

Predators

There are four predators of vervet monkeys such as pythons, baboons, eagles, leopards.

Vervet monkeys make variety of calls from observations alone; individuals are habituated from specific individuals.

In case of any attack they will give an alarm call for different predators, group members respond as if the caller is reliable. Vervet monkeys are recognized and respond by individual calling .There 30 different velvet alarm callings made by the vervet monkeys, some callings are given when they see a human being approaching, and researchers also believe that vervet monkeys they have different ways of distinguishing between fight predators and a number of land predators.

Mothers of vervet0Q monkeys can recognize their offspring by a scream alone. A juvenile scream will alert all mothers, yet the offspring’s mother has a shorter latency in looking in the direction of the scream, during a conflict mothers help their offspring’s.

Mothers always determine to which offspring belongs to them. The offspring creates a scream well looking towards the mother.

Kin Relationship

During development, siblings prevail social relationships. Social groups, mother-offspring’s and sibling interactive are distinct groups .offspring’s and their siblings are very friendly and supportive, although they have some competition, conflicts occur during the time of grooming allocated by their mother.

Offspring’s    are not born in close distances due to inter-birth period of the mother. This time can be reduced by used of an all mother. This comes as a form of alliance with relative low costs in regards to groom each other.

Alliance through conflict with aggressive individuals that acts against related siblings.

All mothering Is a process when another individual who is not the mother of the infant decides to care for the infant. Vervet monkeys, infants need a lot of attention.

The days after an offspring is born, the group members of the group will inspect the infants at least once by touching or sniffing. While other group members will participate in infant caretaking, females that are not mature enough they are responsible for the all mothering. If a mother is using all mothering method she is able to shorten their inter-birth periods. Although all mothers are able to gain experiences in rearing infants, this makes them more successful in raising their own offspring’s.

Females discriminate infants they chose to all mother, this will make them choose siblings or infants of high-ranking members.

When a mother allows her female daughter to become an all mother for the newborn siblings, then the mother will decrease on her own investment towards the infant. They would be increasing of successful by rearing other immature daughter.

Grandmothers and grandchildren share one quarter of their genes, they should be more likely to form afflictive relationships than their related members in a group.

Infants prefer their grandmothers more often than unrelated members, adult female kin not including their own mothers. Grandmothers show no preferences over the sex of their grandchildren.

Higher-ranking grandmothers show more interest in caring for grandchildren when compared to low-ranking grandmothers.

Spite

There are spiteful actions that are very rare in the animal kingdom. This is often when there is an indirect benefit to the individuals or to close relatives of the individual.

Vervet monkeys are observed to destroy a competitor’s food source rather than consume or steal it themselves. Energy is lost on destroying the food, a competitive advantage is given to individuals due to an increase in competitive gain.

Reproduction

Female velvets do not have external signs that indicate their menstruation cycle; therefore they do not elaborate social behaviors which involve reproduction process.

Female monkeys give birth once a year, that’s between Septembers to February, that’s after a gestation period of 165 days. A normal infant weighs about 300 to 400 grams.

Feed

Vervet monkeys feed on herbivorous diet, they live on flowers, wild fruits, seeds, leaves, agriculture areas ,they usually raid crops, beans, tobacco plants, peas ,grain crops .carnivorous diet include termites ,weaver bird, cattle egrets ,chicks and eggs.

Distribution and habitat

Vervet monkeys range throughout southern and East Africa being found from Ethiopia, Somalia and extreme southern south Sudan to South Africa. It’s not found west of the East African Rift or Luangwa River. Monkeys inhabit the seven river line woodland, coastal forest and mountains to 4000m.

Adaptable and able to persist in secondary these are highly fragmented vegetation which includes cultivated areas which sometimes live in both urban and rural environments.

VERVET MONKEYS RELATIONSHIP WITH HUMANS

In spite of low predator’s populations in many areas, human development has encroached on wild territories, and this species is killed by electricity pylon, dogs, poison, bullets, it’s also trapped for traditional medicine, biomedical research and bush meat.

Vervet monkey is fragile and complex system, the persecution of the monkey .other people see velvet monkeys as pests that just steal their food.

Vervet monkeys have sex features that distinct dominant hierarchy and is dependent on age of the length of stay in the group.

The female hierarchy is determined by maternal social status. With many enormous sections of interaction that thrive between members of the same ranking or that are closely related. This demonstrates the group individuals .The internal groups are aggressive at lower ranking that are noted by a 3 year and above face conflicts.

Velvet monkeys can be visited in different areas in Uganda and these destinations include Queen Elizabeth, Lake Mburo, Murchison falls and Kidepo valley National park

Get in touch with us

We love hearing from our guests. For all enquiries and to book a Safari please fill in the form below.

Reload Image