Monkey (Vervet) - Vervet Monkey Habits

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.

Predators: Vervets' natural predators include eagles and snakes, particularly the python, which often waits at the bottom of a tree to ambush an unsuspecting monkey as it climbs down. Pythons are able to swallow vervets whole. Baboons sometimes kill and eat vervet monkeys too.