THE VERVET MONKEY OR BLUE APE 



VValmer. There was one leader to the troop, who 

 was conspicuous by reason of his unusually large size, 

 being at least a third bigger than any of the rest. 

 The owner of the corn succeeded in shooting him, 

 whereupon the rest of the troop disappeared from 

 the neighbourhood, and have not been seen since. 



Often when lying on my back, resting during the 

 noonday heat in a forest in Natal, I saw inquisitive 

 black faces peering down at me from the high 

 branches of some tall tree. If I raised my hand or 

 moved in any other way, every face instantly van- 

 ished amongst the foliage, or behind a branch. Often 

 the monkeys lay fiat along a branch and peered over 

 the side, two eyes and a glimpse of a black brow only 

 being visible from below. I frequently encountered 

 troops of Vervets in the strips of bush bordering the 

 banks of rivers. In fact in the inland districts in 

 Natal I seldom saw them elsewhere than in the 

 fringe of bush along watercourses ; or else in the 

 forests or wooded kloofs adjacent to rivers. When 

 danger threatens, or when desiring to cross to the 

 opposite bank of a stream, the Vervet Monkeys have 

 no hesitation in plunging into the water and swim- 

 ming across. I startled a large troop of these apes 

 one day in the bush on the bank of the Umgeni 

 River, in Natal. With loud cries of alarm they 

 swung themselves up a tall tree, one of the topmost 

 branches of which spread out over the stream. 

 Running along to the end of this branch, the apes, 

 one at a time, in rapid succession, sprang with hands 



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