Summer is upon us and it’s tough out there for the monkeys. Without access to ground water, they are resorting to eating succulents again as their primary water source. With water being scarce, the monkeys battle to regulate their body temperature and have to resort to extreme measures.

Instead of simply resting in the cool of dense shrubs, they have now started resting down aardvark holes. While this is effective for keeping cool on hot days, it’s very risky as they are highly vulnerable to predation. A monkey in an aardvark hole is a quick and easy meal for a jackal or caracal.

We hope that the monkeys will survive these trying times until the next rains bring some relief.

Until next time,

Rose and the Verveteers

The Vervet Monkey research project is a collaboration between a number of international universities. The project has been based at Samara Private Game Reserve in the Great Karoo since 2008. The aim of the project is to investigate the adaptations of these fascinating monkeys to climatic changes.

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