The average height of Vervet Monkeys is 40 cm for females and 50 cm for males.
It has been stated that they have human-like characteristics such as hypertension, anxiety, social and dependent alcohol use.
They live in social groups ranging from 10 to 70 individuals.
Females stay in their own group throughout their lives. There are separate dominance hierarchies for each gender. Male hierarchies are determined by age, tenure in the group, fighting abilities, and allies, while female hierarchies are based on the mother’s social status.
They warn the group against danger by making up to 30 different sounds (alarm sound in case of danger) that vary according to the type of danger.
Mothers can recognize their offspring from just a cry.
In Vervet monkey groups, babies are the object of tremendous attention. Days after a baby is born, each member of the group examines the baby by touch or smell at least once. All group members participate in babysitting.
Arrogant acts are extremely rare in the animal kingdom. Often, an indirect benefit is obtained by the individual acting ‘arrogant’ or by a close relative of that individual. Vervet monkeys have been observed to destroy a competitor’s food source rather than consume or steal it themselves.
The vervet monkey feeds on a herbivorous diet consisting mostly of wild fruits, flowers, leaves, seeds and seed pods. Vervets are known to farmers as problem animals as they attack beans, peas, tobacco, vegetables, fruits and grain crops in farmland. The animal foods of their diet include grasshoppers and termites. It has been observed that vervets also eat eggs and chicks.
