THE Valvet Monkey ~ Cercopithecus aethiops
Scientific classificatione
Kingdom ~ Animalia
Phylum ~ Chordata
Clade ~ Amniota
Clade ~ Synapsida
Clade ~ Mammaliaformes
Class ~ Mammalia
Living subgroups
Monotremata
~Theria
~Marsupialia
~Placentalia
(The Swahli Name is Tumbili)
The Scientific Name is Cercopithecus aethiops
Their Size is 18 to 26 inches
Their Weight 7 to 17 pounds
The Lifespan of vervet is 24 years in captivity
The Habitat
Woodland, savanna and highbush
Their Diet is Omnivorous
The Gestation Period of vervet is 5 1/2 months
Who are cheif Predators:
Leopard, eagle
This smal, black-faced monkey is common in East Africa as it adapts easily to many environments and is Widely distributed.
The Physical Characteristics
The different types of vervets vary in color, but generally the body is a greenish-olive or
Silvery-gray. The face, ears, hands, feet and tip of the tail are black, but a conspiCuous
white band on the forehead blends in with the short whiskers. The males are slightly larger than the females and easily recognized by their turquoise blue scrota.
The vervet is classified as a medium-sized to large monkey-males weigh up to 17
pounds. Its tail is usually held up, with the tip curving downward. Its arms and legs are approximately the same length.
The Habitat of the Vervet Monkey
In East Africa these monkeys can live in mountain areas up to about 13,000 feet, but
they do not inhabit rain forests or deserts. Their preferred habitat is acacia woodland
along streams, rivers and lakes. They are diurnal, sleeping and eating in trees from
which they seldom venture.
The Behavior of Vervet Monkey
Complex but stable social groups (also called troops) of 10 to 50 individuals mainly
consist of adult females and their immature offspring. Males move freely in and out of
these groups. Within the troop, each adult female is the center of a small family network.
Females who have reached puberty generally stay in the troop.
The Grooming Behaviour.
Grooming is important in a monkey's life. Vervets (as well as most other primates)
spend several hours a day removing parasites, dirt or other material from one another's
fur. In the primates hierarchy, dominant individuals get the most grooming. The
hierarchical system also controls feeding, mating, fighting, friendships and even survival.
The Diet of Velvet monkey
Leaves and young shoots are most important in the diet, but bark, flowers, fruit, bulbs,
roots and grass seeds are also consumed. The mainly vegetarian diet is supplemented
with insects, grubs, eggs, baby birds and sometimes rodents and hares. Vervets rarely
drink water.
Caring for the Young
Infact vervet monkeys are suckled for about 4 months. When they become adept at
feeding themselves solid food, the weaning process begins, although it may not be completed until the vervet is 1 year old.
Close social bonds with female relatives begin to develop in infancy, relationships thought to endure throughout life. Intants are of great interest to the other monkeys in the troop, sub-adult females do everything possible to be allowed to groom or hold a
new intant.
After a birth, the mother licks the infant clean, bites off the umbilical cord and eats the afterbirth. he newborn has black hair and a pink face; it will be 3 or 4 months before it acquires adult coloration.
The infant spends the first week of life clinging to its mothers stomach. After about the degins to move about by itself and atto Stomach. After about the
not allowing or even other adlt females to hold or cary them there alad leayv
not aiowyoung or even otner ddunt remaies to nold or cary tnem. Otners gladiy leave
nelr nrantS in carge or any interested remaie. Kesearcners report that usuany a
emales close tamily members will have the most unrestricted access to the babies. As ne inrants grow, tney play not oniy witnmonkeys Durwtn oner young aniais. Toung vervets chase one another, wrestle, tumble and play king-of-the-castle, taKing turns pushing each other off a high perch.
Predators
Vervets rarely venture further than about 500 yards from the trees, since they are vulnerable to a variety of predators, including leopards, caracals, servals, baboons, large eagles, crocodiles and pythons. Though they usually confine contact calls to chirping and chittering, vervets scream and squeal when in danger.
Did you know?
Vervet monkeys living near areas inhabited by people can become pests, stealing food and other items and raiding crops. Good climbers, jumpers and swimmers, they often elude capture.
In sexual and dominance displays vervet monkeys run the gamut from shaking branches and jumping around to making a hard kek-kek-kek' sound to mark their territories
In the National parks we do have the Common rule and tricktly that we dont allow to anybody who are visiting the Nationa park to give food those animals
why because they will be dependant
And it will be the behaviour that will be built in their mind, everytime they will see any human being tgey will be there wait for food.
Also they will be faced by diseases
we have diseaseas that catch them but these are wild diseases eg. Jaw distemper, Genital diseases this are the major diseases that affect the Vervet Monkey and other monkey.
The Vervet monkey are good in social group they protect each other and also Female are protected for a future use but to a remaining male are being chased away so as not to breed with their typical blood sisters or mother and this males are moving to join the Bachelor group and this bachelor group eats together and move together till they find the group that its willing to join them.
The Varvet monkey like to play time to time when they are eating but also give out information to others when something went wrong especially when they see or detect the Danger they produce the sound that alert other either to be attentive or run and ask leter.
This is always the reason why it hard to catch the vervet monkey and other monykey.
Eagles like to take the Vervet monkey and eat why because they use to carry their young back of them.
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