Cercopithecus aethiops

Length: 38-61 cm (15 - 24 inches)

Tail: 42-114 cm (16 - 45 inches)

Weight: 2.5-6 kg (5.5- 13 lb.) female, 3.5-9 kg (7.7-20 lb.) male

Status: very abundant

Habitat: Vervets live in all varieties of woodlands. They are especially common along forests with grassland edges. They are often found where riverine forests and fever trees grow.

Role: omnivore

Food: Vervets are omnivores and eat a wide variety of food. Included in their diets are gum, new leaves and thorns (before they harden), flowers, seed pods, peas, powdery bark, and even wood. They eat the most abundant fruits, seeds, flowers and grasses.

They will eat insects, centipedes, lizards, birds’ eggs and nestlings. Insects, herds and grasses are mainly consumed in the wet season.

Predators: Large eagles, leopards, serval, cheetah, lions, baboons and snakes are their main enemies.