Vervet Monkey
The Vervet Monkey, sometimes simply known as the Vervet, is the common name of the species Chlorocebus pygerythrus, an African Old World monkey in the family Cercopithecidae.
Size/ Description
The vervet monkey is a medium to large African monkey, approximately 18 to 26 inches in size and weights around 7 to 17 pouinds . They are grey or slightly greenish-grey in colour, however the face, hands, feet and the tip of their tail are black. They also have a white band on their forehead which makes them easily identifiable
Breeding
Vervet monkeys mature slowly, taking around five years to become fertile, although this can vary depending on the available food supply. In an area where the monkeys are well fed, they can become fertile much sooner. Male monkeys probably will not breed at five years old, because it is unlikely that they will be high enough in the troop's social rankings. Generally, they have to wait for several years before they are senior enough to breed.
A single infant is born five to six months after mating. It is fully furred and its eyes are open, and from birth it is able to cling to its mother's belly fur, though she will usually support it with her arm during the first few hours. The young vervet suckles less and less as it grows, though it is still nursed by its mother, and is weaned and almost independent in just under a year, before the birth of her next baby.
Daily Life
Male vervets are often larger than females, and unusually for monkeys, there may be several adult males in each troop. These will fight each other for control of the troop, and power frequently changes hands as a dominant male leaves the troop or young males reach maturity.
Vervets scent-mark their territory by running their cheeks or chins on rocks or trees. This releases a strong scent from their facial glands which can be sniffed later by other monkeys. Scent-markings are thought to tell other monkeys about territorial boundaries. The size of a territory will vary depending on the availability of food in the area.
Feeding
Vervets have a very mixed diet, although their favourite food is fruit. They will also eat flowers and leaves, crops from farmsteads, and even insects, eggs and small rodents. They collect food using their hands, and the young are taught what foods to pick and how to prepare them for eating by their mothers. Vervets also make regular evening trips to a water-hole to drink. The monkeys are also accidental gardeners. They eat seeds whole, and they pass undigested through them and into their droppings, which are left in ideal places for germination, increasing the abundance of trees.
