| Vervet Monkey - The vervet monkey, also called the green, the grivet and the Tantalus monkey, is native to Africa and is the most common of the savanna monkeys. The vervet monkey's physical description can be summed up as a medium sized primate approximately 40 to 60 cm (15.7" to 23.6") in length with a tale measuring 30 to 50 cm (11.8" to 19.6"). This species can weigh between 3 and 5 kg (6.6 to 11 lbs). The vervet?s coat is silky and color varies from silver to yellow to reddish to green depending on geographic location. Vervets are characterized by their black face and white brow. This species is sexually dimorphic with males being nearly .5% larger than females. Vervets possess elongated whiskers that are usually white or pale yellow in color and can differ in length between individuals. On of the defining characteristic of this species, and the source of its name, is the greenish color of the upper parts of the face. This coloration is an illusion caused by individual hairs with black and yellow strands. Male vervets can be clearly identified by their blue scrotum.
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 Male Vervet Monkey WSM-286 High Resolution  |
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Chlorocebus (formerly known as Cercopithecus) aethiops, has a large geographic range and can be found throughout central Africa and southward over much of the continent. Vervets are both terrestrial and ground dwelling. Their habitat consists of savanna grassland as well as scrub forest. However, and unlike many other African primate species, vervets are very adept at traveling on the ground and tend to inhabit open grassland areas more than forests.Vervets tend to dwell close to a lakes or rivers due to their need for daily water. This species is typically diurnal, being active and feeding mostly during the day. Vervets sleep in trees at night. Vervets, like many primate species, are social animals. They travel in small groups, called troops that may number only a few to as many 140 individuals. Although aggression within a troop is rare, vervets are highly territorial and often clash with surrounding troops. Unlike many other monkey species, vervets tend to have muti-male groups, with a hierarchy of the strongest males at the top. Like many primates, the vervet possess a wide range of facial gestures for communication as well as vocal calls. Males will compete for mates with a complete system of display that includes baring teeth, jaw movements and aggression. Vervets are polygamous with females typically having only a few mates in their lifetime and males possessing numerous breeding partners. Grooming is a common social behavior in this species and can be used in courtship. During the breeding season, which can be year round, the female's gentalia will swell, alerting the males when they are in heat. Dominant males will often perform a "red, white and blue" genital display to attract females; the colors referring to the males, penis, belly hair and scrotum. Gestation for this species runs approximately 175 to 200 days. Vervets are small at birth weighing only 300 to 400g (10.5 to 14 ounces). Females generally are responsible for raising the young and will often share maternal duties with other females within their social groups. The young will cling to it's mother belly for roughly three weeks. Vervets reach sexual maturity at 2.5 years and live 10 to 15 years in the wild and up to 25 years in captivity. The vervet monkey is an omnivore with a diet that includes insects, plants, and vertebrates. However, this species primarily eats fruits. As a frugivore, this species plays an important role in the ecosystem as a seed disperser. Vervet monkeys serve as prey for leopards, snakes, raptors, baboons and humans. The vervet monkey delineated from the human evolutionary lineage over 50 million years ago. However, due to their generally close biological design, this species is often used by humans as a research subject in medical and commercial studies. Vervets are considered a pest by many human inhabitants within their range. This species, in addition to possessing little fear of humans, can climb and jump well making it a major nuisance to human crops, gardens and plantations. Due to over hunting and habitat destruction, the international organization CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, has classified the vervet monkey as Appendix 2. Appendix 2 applies to species that are not necessarily threatened with extinction, but may become so if not regulated. This species has been thought to have been the original host for the HIV AIDS virus. It is thought that humans first contracted a mutated form of the virus from eating undercooked or raw vervet monkeys during religious practices. |
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