Hunting Vervet Monkey in Africa
The vervet monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) is a medium sized monkey that inhabits eastern Africa. When hunting the vervet monkey in Africa, the hunter should hunt in areas of savanna, riverine woodland, costal forest and mountains up to 12,000 feet. The vervet monkey is very adaptable and can live in cultivated areas and sometimes is found in close proximity to rural and urban populations from Ethiopia to South Africa.
The male vervet monkey weighs from 8.6 to 17.6 pounds. The female is smaller at 7.5 to 11.5 pounds and shorter than the male. These monkeys have four confirmed predators not counting man; leopards, pythons, baboons, and eagles. When frightened, the vervet monkey has distinct calls for each predator that tell the group exactly what the danger is. Mothers can recognize their young by a scream alone.
Females remain within their respective group all their lives. Female dominance is dependent on maternal social position with daughters inheriting the dominance from their mothers. Males, upon reaching sexual maturity, move from one group to a neighboring group. Often males will make the move with another male relative in tow for protection against aggression from members of the new group. Within all groups, aggression runs downhill, being directed at individuals that are lower on the pecking order.
The vervet monkey subsists on a mostly-vegetarian diet. It consumes wild fruits, seeds, pods, leaves, and flowers. In human agricultural areas, the monkeys will destroy crops such as tobacco, grains, vegetables and fruit. For this reason, farmers consider them pests and work to eradicate them. Vervet monkeys also eat grasshoppers, termites, eggs, and small chicks.
Vervet monkeys spend most of their time in trees for safety reasons. They will venture down to search for food or to water, but seldom do they go more than 400 yards from the trees. They are diurnal animals, feeding during the day, then resting at night. They are quite social, and will form groups of 10 to 50 monkeys, depending on the area and available food supply.
Vervet monkeys are usually not able to breed until five years of age. After an approximate gestation period of 22 weeks, the female will give birth to a single infant. The newborn will not be weaned for about one year. They adapt to their surroundings with ease. They can climb and run through trees quite well. They can cover ground at high speed, useful when something wants to make a meal out of them.
Vervet monkeys have excellent eyesight and the troop is always on the lookout for danger. The most successful method of hunting vervet monkeys in Africa is to wait for them at a frequented waterhole within their home range, or build a blind along their route. Because of their diminutive size, hunting vervet monkeys in Africa doesn’t require a large caliber rifle. A very good caliber choice for hunting vervet monkeys in Africa is something chambered in the .243 Winchester range. When hit well, the vervet monkey won’t go very far. They leave a poor blood trail because they bleed out rapidly. Unless the monkey goes down and stays down, wait about fifteen minutes before doing a follow up.
