The Vervet Diaries

This is Mara, our first ever rescued orphan to meet foster-mums from the H&B troop. Her history is unknown but it's likely she was kept by people for some time before thankfully being handed over to the sanctuary. When introduced to adult females she was immediately bonded with Percy who became her foster-mum and also eventually took her out into the enclosure to join the rest of the troop. Orphans Fudge, Herbert, and Thigpen would later follow her as the troop showed themselves as very capable and loving foster-mums. She's the biggest of the bunch, despite being the only girl, in a group that have become infamous for drinking a lot of milk, one day topping a litre of milk between them! 👹🍼✌️
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Today I'm monitoring Camelot troop, a huge troop with over 110 monkeys. I'm throwing food pellets around the outer edge to attract the monkeys out (food is a good motivator!) so I can see them from the fence-line and tick them off our checklist. Any injuries or health issues are also recorded, aswell as checking on food, waters, and the enclosure itself. Other troops take around 30mins to monitor, but Camelot can take over an hour due to the sheer size of the enclosure & number of monkeys. I'll come back later in the afternoon during feeding to find any who where missing. ✌️🐒
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Another of our main bandit group without an official name is 6-year-old female 'Other Lady'...she's super nice & mostly chills and looks after the babies and younger juveniles. Judging by the moustache and eyes we can be pretty certain that the father is the infamous alpha-male Antoin ✌️🐒
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If you're interested in adopting and naming one of the bandits, it's only R500 (~$33). You'll get a certificate, more information, and some photos. The fees also help pay towards their medical care which includes vet bills, microchipping, medications, etc. Makes a great present for Christmas time! DM or email [email protected] if interested 😁
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Our handsome Johan, who arrived at the sanctuary way back as a 3-month-old orphan. 9 years later, he's now a big, well-respected member of the D&D troop. He's quite high ranked among the males but is super chill and doesn't get into too much trouble ✌️🐒
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We're on a bit of an integration spree at the moment, and the momentum just keeps rolling on. Following the integrations of Cedric (sub-adult male into Gismo troop) and Riley (juvenile male into Skrow troop), we have our absolutley beautiful Harmony, an adult female currently working her way into the H&B troop. Harmony is very distinctive, having a golden coat and chunky tail, and is a savvy old girl at the surprisingly old age of 15 years old. She's knows exactly how to monkey - here she is giving Thandi a full-body groom on her first session meeting a troop member. This is the vervet's favourite method of strengthening social bonds and keeping nice healthy coats. Harmony is next on the H&B project list, which aims to get as many of the introcage monkeys into their own large, natural troop enclosure. She's being doing so well that we've already started to let her out into the troop. I don't think it's goina take too long at all, stay tuuuuned ✌️🐒...
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Finally the new Vervet Diaries blog is up a running... kinda winging it for now, so let's see how it goes...

Dance of the Worms (Part 1) One of our main jobs at the sanctuary is keeping the monkeys happy and healthy. That’s literally our modus operandi. This includes putting the monkeys through a rehabilitation process to give…

Grabbed this shot of Freida having a post-meal nap in the shade. Temperatures are rising again as we approach the summer months, and the monkeys are taking lots of siestas in the midday heat. Freida is another well-known female from Grouch's wild bandit troop, but a little more chilled than the others. We had to vasectomise her son Akilah this year and she literally sat on the roof of Sickbay all day everyday, watching and waiting for him to be released. We were all pretty happy to reunite them again! ✌️🐒
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Interrupting the legends roll to bring you more good integration news... Riley, our incredibly fluffy 1-year-old ex-pet, was released into Skrow troop yesterday and never looked back, staying out in the trees on his very first night. Susie Q, an orphan herself from a few years ago, has been keeping a close eye on him, chasing away anyone who scares him and is currently cuddling him up in the trees as the sun sets 😊 ...He still has a few stress-habits, common amongst ex-pets due to being kept in unnatural conditions away from other monkeys, but hopefully those will gradually disappear as he spends more time with his new family ✌️🐒...
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PS. Would you like to volunteer and help our monkeys? Learn new skills in animal care and wildlife conservation? Help look after orphan babies? Experience life in the African bush? We're always looking for volunteers! Feel free to contact [email protected] 😁
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Next up on the legends list is the feisty but friendly Phylís, one of the OG's of the D&D troop. She's one of the group of orphans from 2009/10 who formed the troop back in 2011 when the enclosure was built. This original group had no foster-mums, they looked after each other from a very young age, and thus they have an extremely tight group bond. Known for her friendly demeanor, approaching the fence to see people come past, and being a little on the chunky side, she's a reliable and very protective foster-mum to many orphan babies. Without doubt one of the most popular troop monkeys amongst the staff here ✌️🐒...
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Here's someone who doesn't really need an introduction, but for the benefit of those of you who haven't volunteered here... another absolute legend of the sanctuary... daughter of the infamous Fluffy Witch... terroriser of volunteers... all round meanest of the mean... the long time alpha-female of the bandit troop... Grouch! No one passes through these parts without at least one angry confrontation with this lady, but of course we all love her anyways 😂✌️🐒
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Cedric, a rescued ex-pet, getting lots of attention from his new troop 😁 ...
So this week the integration team took centre stage - Cedric, a juvenile male, was allowed to take his first steps out into the main Gismo troop enclosure. Our integration staff, Nico & Tracey, have been working with Cedric for the last few months, introducing him slowly to members of the troop in his introcage, making new friends and building his confidence. He's very playful and so far the troop have welcomed him in without much drama. Let's hope he decides to stay out in the trees tonight ✌️🐒
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That moment you realise mama lied about spinach giving you super strength just so you'd eat your greens... 🤨... 🐒✌️...