Vervet Monkey

Description:

The Vervet Monkey has a black face with a white fringe of hair, while the overall body colour is mostly grizzled-grey. The male has a pale blue scrotum. The species exhibits sexual dimorphism, the males are larger in weight and body length. Young vervet Monkey in South Africa eat fruits of Harpephyllum caffrum The Vervet Monkey eats a wide range of fruits, figs, leaves, seeds and flowers. It also eats birds' eggs and young chicks, and insects (grasshoppers and termites). In human inhabited environments it will eat bread and various crops; especially maize.

Habitat:

The Vervet Monkey ranges throughout much of Southern and East Africa, being found from Ethiopia, Somalia and extreme southern Sudan, to South Africa. It is not found west of the Great Rift Valley or the Luangwa River, where it is replaced by the closely related Malbrouck (C. cynosuros). The Vervet Monkey inhabits savanna, riverine woodland, coastal forest and mountains up to 4000 m (13,100 ft). They are adaptable and able to persist in secondary and/or highly fragmented vegetation, including cultivated areas, and sometimes found living in both rural and urban environments.