Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure

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Fast Facts:

The most widespread African guenon (there are up to 20 subspecies).
Usually yellowish to olive green coat with white underparts and gray lower limbs. Face black with white cheek-tufts and browband.
Both sexes have long, sharp canines.

Vervet Monkey

Scientific Name	Aethiops sabeus
Classification	Phylum: Chordata, Class: Mammalia, Order: Primate; Family: Cercopithecidae
Status	Although some species of guenons are listed as endangered or vulnerable, C. sabaeus is not, but numbers are declining because of destruction of forest habitat and excessive hunting by people.
Range	Northern and Southern Savanna, from Senegal to Sudan and south to the tip of South Africa.
Habitat	Adapted to practically all wooded habitats outside the equatorial rain forest.
Diet	Fruits, flowers, seeds, seedpods, leaves, grasses, and roots. On occasion, birds, eggs, small reptiles and insects.
Size	Height: 18-26" Weight 7 1/4 to 10 pounds.
Lifespan
Location

Special Features

The tail is well developed and used for balance. They are good swimmers.
Also known as grass monkeys.
They have a creaking cry and a staccato bark that enables members of a troop to keep in contact. They have a variety of alarm calls, distinguishing between avian, snake or mammalian predators.

Social Structure & Behavior

Grooming removes parasites, but the primary function is to establish and maintain social bonds. It is most common among family members, but is also considered a means to form alliances with non-kin and to strive for higher status.

Behavior Diurnal; most active in early morning and late afternoon. Territorial, but generally avoid serious conflicts (defend with loud barking and displays). Mainly ground dwellers, but take shelter in the trees when alarmed and sleep in trees.

Usually found in groups of 20-50. Guenons breed throughout the year, but most births are concentrated just before the rainy season, so that lactation proceeds when food and water are more abundant.

Reproduction:
Gestation lasts 163 days. They reach sexual maturity at the age of 4-5 years. Record life span in the wild is 17 years; up to 30 years in captivity.