If you visit Zimbabwe, it’s only natural to ask yourself what monkey species you might encounter. Luckily, there are quite a few species you should be able to find. Keep reading to learn how to identify each monkey, ape, and primate, and learn some fun and interesting facts.
1. Vervet Monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus)
The vervet monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus), or simply vervet, is an Old World monkey of the family Cercopithecidae native to Africa. The term "vervet" is also used to refer to all the members of the genus Chlorocebus. The vervet monkey was previously classified as Cercopithecus aethiops, now renamed 'grivet', and reclassified as Chlorocebus.
The vervet monkey ranges throughout much of Southern and East Africa, being found from Ethiopia and extreme southern South Sudan all the way down to South Africa. It is not found west of the East African Rift or the Luangwa River, where it is replaced by the closely related malbrouck (C. cynosuros) species. The vervet monkey inhabits savanna, riverine woodland, coastal forest, and mountains up to 4000 m (13,100 ft).
These cheeky monkeys live in Zimbabwe in woodlands, savannahs, and mountainous regions. Vervet Monkeys spend as much time among the trees as they do on the ground. When foraging the forest floor, they gather in groups of 10-40 individuals. Note that these monkeys are highly territorial and will scream aggressively at any intruders! Keep your food hidden! Vervet Monkeys are bold and frequently steal food from households.
Identifying Features:
Read also: The Barbary Macaque
- Small grey Monkeys with black faces and long tails are common throughout the country.
- They have black faces.
- An adult male's scrotum is bright blue.
The vervet monkey very much resembles a gray langur, having a black face with a white fringe of hair, while its overall hair color is mostly grizzled-grey. The species exhibits sexual dimorphism; the males are larger in weight and body length and may be recognized by a turquoise-blue scrotum. Adult males weigh between 3.9 and 8.0 kg (8.6 and 17.6 lb), averaging 5.5 kg (12 lb), and have a body length between 420 and 600 mm (17 and 24 in), averaging 490 mm (19 in) from the top of the head to the base of the tail.
Although they spend much of their time feeding on the ground these monkeys are swift tree climbers. They are never found far from water and spend the heat of the day resting and return to their roosting trees in the late afternoon. Most of their foraging is done in the early morning and they can become pests stealing from kitchens, dining rooms, vegetable gardens and fruit orchids at hunting camps, villages and even city homesteads.
Vervets live in social groups ranging from 10 to 70 individuals, with males moving to other groups at the time of sexual maturity. When males reach sexual maturity, they move to a neighboring group. Often, males move with a brother or peer, presumably for protection against aggression by males and females of the resident group. Groups that had previously transferred males show significantly less aggression upon the arrival of another male. In almost every case, males migrate to adjacent groups. Females remain in their groups throughout life. Separate dominance hierarchies are found for each sex.
Vervet monkeys have four confirmed predators: leopards, eagles, pythons, and baboons. Other predators include African wildcats, black mambas, common mambas, and black-chested snake eagles. The sighting of each predator elicits an acoustically distinct alarm call. As infants, vervets learn to make the variety of calls from observation alone, without explicit tutelage.
The vervet monkey eats a primarily herbivorous diet, living mostly on wild fruits, flowers, leaves, seeds, and seed pods. In agricultural areas, vervets become problem animals, as they raid bean, pea, young tobacco, vegetable, fruit, and grain crops. Animal foods of their diet include grasshoppers and termites.
Read also: African Black Monkey Types
Although listed as a species of least concern by the IUCN, a CITES II permit is required to hunt a Vervet Monkey.
Hunting Packages Including Vervet Monkey:
- 7 Day Plains Game Package in Matabeleland North
- Buffalo & Plains Game Package in Matabeleland South
- 15 Day Leopard / Nyala /P. Game Hunt in Matabeleland South
- 7 Day Non-trophy Elephant Package in Matabeleland North
- 10 Day Elephant & Plains Game Package in Matabeleland North
- 14 Days Leopard & Plains Game in Matabeleland North
- 14 Day Elephant & Plains Game Package in Matabeleland North
- 18 Day Lion & Plains Game Package in Matabeleland North
- 18 Day Elephant, Buffalo & PG Package in Matabeleland North
2. Blue Monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis)
Best Monkey Moments | BBC Earth
A monkey of many names, the blue monkey (aka: Sykes’ monkey, diademed monkey, gentle monkey, and samango) also inhabits many different types of forests across Africa. They are primarily found in central and eastern Africa in the countries of Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Eswatini, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. There is also an isolated population found on the west coast of the continent in Angola.
Blue monkeys can be found in tropical mountain and lowland forests, mangroves, bamboo forests, and delta forests. They live in forests along rivers (known as riverine forests), and gallery forests that grow between wet and dry landscapes. They are found in the sand forests of South Africa, which are characterized by ancient sand dunes and unique plant species that have adapted to the dry nutrient-poor soils. Blue monkeys are also found in secondary forests that have regrown after experiencing deforestation and logged forests. While adapted to so many forest types, they are not found in open woodlands or grasslands, which seem to act as barriers for the species. They require large forest ranges and seem to have a difficult time in small forest fragments that have been separated by deforestation.
Identifying Features:
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- Look for a white patch of fur on their necks.
Look for Blue Monkeys in Zimbabwe high among the tree canopy. They prefer shaded areas with high humidity and nearby water sources. Blue Monkeys are occasional allies and share territory with Red-tailed Monkeys. Blue Monkeys function in groups of 10-15. An alpha male acts as the leader of several subgroups consisting of females and their children. Roughly half of their diets are fruits, but they also eat flowers, leaves, and slow-moving invertebrates. Blue Monkeys rarely leave the safety of treetops, so don’t expect to come across one at ground level.
From head to hindquarters, the blue monkey is typically 19.7-25.6 inches (50-65 cm) in length, plus their tail which is nearly equal in length. Despite their name, blue monkeys are not really blue in color. Their fur is mostly black, although it can sometimes have a slight blueish shine in the light. The fur on their back is gray or olive (depending on subspecies) and has the appearance of a cape draped over them. The fur on their cheeks is bushy making their heads appear rounded, and speckled with white. Around their mouth is short white fur that spreads onto the throat and matches their white brow ridge (also called a diadem due to the crown-like appearance).
In addition to their many names and forests they inhabit, blue monkeys eat a wide variety of food and are omnivorous. They primarily rely on fruit and, like other guenons, have several adaptations for their primarily frugivorous diet. These adaptations include rounded molars, simple stomachs (unlike the complex stomachs of leaf-eating monkeys that are similar to ruminants), and cheek pouches that let them take their food to-go. Scientists think that the cheek pouches in blue monkeys and many other African fruit-eating monkeys help avoid predation. They’re able to stuff as much food in their cheek pouches as they can while in a riskier area and then enjoy the food later when they can get to a safer spot.
As a forest dependent species, it’s no surprise that blue monkeys spend most of their time high up in the trees, meaning they are arboreal. They move quadrupedally (on all fours) through the tree branches, using their long tails to help them balance. Blue monkeys are diurnal and are active during the day and sleep during the night in designated sleeping trees.
Blue monkeys live in groups of around 4-65 individuals, with 1 adult male and multiple females. Outside males may join the group temporarily during the mating season, and sometimes will even stick around for a few years. When males mature, they leave their natal group (the group they were born in) and become solitary or join a bachelor group until they are able to find a group with females to join.
Blue monkeys have been known to engage in polyspecific associations, which means they’ll hang out with other monkey species in a way that changes their behavior or the other species’ behavior rather than simply tolerating each other. Where their ranges overlap, they have been known to associate with red colobus, black-and-white colobus, gray-cheeked mangabeys, and Angolan colobus.
Blue monkeys have a range of vocalizations they use to communicate with each other. Pyows are used to signal predators from the ground and are also used by males during aggressive encounters with other males. This is the second most common call for blue monkeys and is louder and longer in duration than most other calls. The most common call is the boom, a low-tonal call that males will emit after encounters with rival blue monkey groups or predators.
Blue monkeys play a role in maintaining the forests they live in by acting as seed dispersers. The blue monkey is classified as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN, 2017), appearing on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Blue monkeys throughout their range are threatened by habitat destruction for development of farmland, logging, and human settlements. Blue monkeys are also hunted for bushmeat and use in traditional medicine.
3. Chacma Baboons (Papio ursinus)
Identifying Features:
- One of the longest monkeys.
- They are also one of the heaviest monkeys.
- Adult males average 31.8 kg (70 lb).
- Generally dark gray or brown.
You can find them in a wide variety of habitats, including woodland, savanna, steppes, and sub deserts (arid habitats that have just enough rainfall to allow vegetation to grow). It is rare to find only ONE Chacma Baboon, as this species is very social. They live in large troops that can number up to 100 individuals. Communication is done via facial expressions, vocalizations, body movements, and touch.
Leopards are the main predator of Chacma Baboons. One study showed that they made up 20% of leopard kills! African wild dogs, lions, Spotted hyenas, Nile crocodiles, and African rock pythons also consume these monkeys when given the chance. But male Chacma Baboons are pretty intimidating themselves with large and sharp canine teeth, and they are often able to drive away potential predators.
At this time, the population of these monkeys is not threatened. But as the human population continues to grow, conflicts with Chacma Baboons continue to increase. Some troops live in close proximity to people and are known to break into cars and homes or overturn garbage cans looking for food.
Table of Monkey Species in Zimbabwe
| Species | Habitat | Identifying Features | Conservation Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vervet Monkey | Savanna, riverine woodland, coastal forest, mountains | Black face with white fringe, turquoise-blue scrotum in males | Least Concern |
| Blue Monkey | Tropical mountain and lowland forests, mangroves, bamboo forests | White patch of fur on neck, black fur with bluish shine | Least Concern |
| Chacma Baboon | Woodland, savanna, steppes, sub deserts | Large size, dark gray or brown fur | Not Threatened |
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