In our ever changing world, space for wildlife to roam is slowly disappearing.

We must all remember that the “city monkey” looking for food in your rubbish bin did not choose that way of life.

As South Africa continues to accelerate into sprawling inner city suburbs, we must all take into consideration that the city monkeys’ relatives once roamed in those wild open spaces, now residential housing estates.

An Introduction To City Living

Vervets have the natural ability to climb all manner of objects, jump tall fences and traverse obstacles. Over a period of many years, and as their habitats began to diminish, troops of Vervet monkeys became more and more exposed to their human cousins, man. The city can provide a troop with adequate food, water, and a playground but is a dangerous and unnatural place to call home.

 

To compound the problem, monkeys fascinate humans so as soon as contact is made with them, we begin to befriend them by offering a variety of delicious and interesting things for them to eat. Over time monkeys can lose their inherent fear of people and begin to interact with us, as we in turn interact with them. Consequently, people living next to or in natural areas start to experience more and more incidents with monkeys.

A Guide To Living With Vervet Monkeys

The guide is split into three sections namely Residential, Public and Commercial and provides the following information:

  • Helpful advice and tips on how not to attract monkeys
  • Easy ways to protect your fruit and property
  • What to do if you find a distressed or injured vervet monkey

Each section has been designed to highlight the best methods in which not to attract vervet monkeys in each scenario. Helping us all live with this clever, but threatened primate.

Please select a topic for more information