The controversial M-word

Forget South African politics – the real controversy is urban Vervet monkeys. Love them or hate them, they are here to stay, the North Coast Courier reports.

Some say there are too many monkeys due to the lack of predators, while others claim that they are under threat and in need of protection.

While there is little research available, most experts agree that the biggest problem is humans feeding them.

Ecoman (consultant ecosystems manager) from Mount Moreland Michael Hickman said Vervet monkeys are causing an environmental disaster and the authorities are ignoring it.

“Everyone is scared of talking about monkeys, but this is a topic that has to be addressed. Within the Ethekwini Metro, their numbers have increased to alarming proportions over the last ten years, which is causing a tremendous environmental problem that the authorities do not want to address because of the highly emotive group of people who, I believe, are to a large degree responsible for the bad situation the monkeys now find themselves in.

“You cannot feed monkeys and get them used to humans and expect them not to pester other humans for food too. Monkey see, monkey do.”

Because of lack of predators within the Metro area, the Vervet is the alpha predator at the top of the food chain, and its numbers are not kept in check. This creates a huge imbalance in the ecosystem.

“In Mount Moreland it is virtually impossible for any bird to successfully breed, other than those few lucky ones which nest where monkeys cannot get to them to destroy their nest and eat their eggs and young. Lesser Striped Swallows, Village Weavers and the few hole-nesting birds are able to find a hole secure from monkey predation. Chameleons and most lizards have virtually no chance of survival.”

University of KZN PhD student Lindsay Patterson recently studied bird nest predation throughout KZN and found that Vervet monkeys, and other urban predators to a lesser extent, may have a negative impact on nesting birds.

“As urbanization increases, the identification of nest predators becomes important for avian conservation and management of urban wildlife communities. From June 2013 through February 2014 we installed 75 artificial nests in 25 suburban gardens. A total of 25% of the artificial nests were raided, with Vervet monkeys being the main predators,” said Patterson, who is passionate about primates and has been studying them since 2013.

“Vervet monkeys are generalist feeders that have adapted to urban environments which means raiding often becomes a common foraging strategy. Therefore, Vervet monkey density, in conjunction with the variation in seasonal food availability, and decreasing diversity in urban predators, may lead to urban bird eggs being sought out as a high protein food source.”

– Caxton News Service