Monkey |
Unique Features
Monkeys have cheek pouches which they fill with food like storage pouches, before actually swallowing. Their tails are important for balancing themselves. Monkeys are omnivorous (they eat meat and plants) but mainly prefer plants. Their diet includes fruit, seeds, roots and bark. They also eat insects, termites, grasshoppers, birds, eggs and lizards. Predators The monkey's main predators are leopard, servals, eagles, crocodiles and baboons. Monkeys move in troops and are always on the alert for signals of alarm from members of the troop or from other animals or birds. At the first sign of trouble, vervet monkeys flee into the tree tops. Family Ties Monkeys have a highly developed system of communication. They use their voices, facial expressions and body language to communicate with one another. Vervet monkeys spend a great deal of time on the ground, although they always sleep in trees. They live in troops of between 15 and 60 which include males and females of all ages. Before going to sleep at sundown the troop gets together for grooming and playing. Grooming is an important part of socialising as well as for cleanliness. Among juveniles, dominance is established by challenges and fights. Newborn babies cling to their mother's stomach, and hang upside down in this position when the troop is on the move. At any sign of danger, females will pick up the young and carry them out of harm's way. |