A monkey was spotted today (June 10), wandering through the backyard of one of the Diamana Road flats.

The monkey had originally been spotted days earlier, in a garden of a house further up the hill from the flats.

Today’s sighting took place at about 13:00 when residents of the flats spotted a monkey calmly strolling in their yard. They managed to take a few photos of it in a nearby tree, and a video.

After staying in the yard for several minutes, it wandered off into the bushes behind the flats, disappearing from sight.

Local conservationist says…

According to Ladysmith Birders president Peter Nelson, monkeys are an uncommon sight in suburban Ladysmith. Mostly, they are found in the more rural areas around town.

They are not considered dangerous, but residents are warned not to feed them or leave food out for them, as they will increase the likelihood of more monkeys ‘moving to town’.

The vervet monkey, or simply vervet, is an Old World monkey of the family Cercopithecidae, native to Africa. The term “vervet” is also used to refer to all the members of the genus Chlorocebus. The five distinct subspecies can be found mostly throughout Southern Africa, as well as some of the eastern countries.

Click to receive news links via WhatsApp Channel. Or for the latest news, visit our webpage or follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Join us there!