Vervet Monkey
Chlorocebus pygerythrus
Where is it found?
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Woodland, savannah, farmland and urban areas
Diet and foraging method
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Forages for most of it's food in trees but also feeds on the ground.
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Key adaptations
Legs and arms are the same length so they can easily walk on all fours.
Social organisation and mating system
Medium sized groups but sometimes exceed 50 individuals
Polygynous
Did you know that...?
Vervet monkeys have a very sophisticated communication system. Individuals make different alarm calls depending on the type of predator they see and the rest of the group takes the appropriate action. For example, when a snake alarm call is made all the monkey's stand upright scanning the ground for the snake, if a leopard alarm is made they all flee into the tree canopy and if an eagle alarm is produced, monkeys run into dense bushes.
Taxonomy
Picture credits:
Maps from: http://species.mol.org/species/
"Vervet monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus)" by Charlesjsharp - Own work, from Sharp Photography, sharpphotography. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vervet_monkey_(Chlorocebus_pygerythrus).jpg#/media/File:Vervet_monkey_(Chlorocebus_pygerythrus).jpg
"The vervet monkey" by Hein waschefort - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_vervet_monkey.jpg#/media/File:The_vervet_monkey.jpg
"Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania (2292187712)" by Joachim Huber. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ngorongoro_Crater,_Tanzania_(2292187712).jpg#/media/File:Ngorongoro_Crater,_Tanzania_(2292187712).jpg
"Monkey & Baby" by SajjadF - Own work. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Monkey_%26_Baby.JPG#/media/File:Monkey_%26_Baby.JPG
"Vervet monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus)" by Charlesjsharp - Own work, from Sharp Photography, sharpphotography. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vervet_monkey_(Chlorocebus_pygerythrus).jpg#/media/File:Vervet_monkey_(Chlorocebus_pygerythrus).jpg
"The vervet monkey" by Hein waschefort - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_vervet_monkey.jpg#/media/File:The_vervet_monkey.jpg
"Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania (2292187712)" by Joachim Huber. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ngorongoro_Crater,_Tanzania_(2292187712).jpg#/media/File:Ngorongoro_Crater,_Tanzania_(2292187712).jpg
"Monkey & Baby" by SajjadF - Own work. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Monkey_%26_Baby.JPG#/media/File:Monkey_%26_Baby.JPG
