Monkey Pictures - Pg 2

The Vervet is one of the few African primates to have escaped the equatorial rain forests and come down from the trees.

It has instead adapted to all wooded habitats outside of the rain forests and, although it no longer lives in the trees, it never ventures too far from the safety of wooded areas.

Vervet monkeys also depend on trees as their main source of food. So they will climb trees to pick fruit, seeds, pods, and buds, while also foraging on the ground under trees, looking for the fallen fruit and pods.

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Deep or Dappled Shade This behavior makes it difficult to take good photos of monkeys. While in the trees they move fast and are often in deep or dappled shade, while the sky behind can be very bright, making them appear as silhouettes. When foraging on the ground under trees, they will again usually be in deep shade, or partially obscured by bushes and other vegetation. Natural Coloring Their natural coloring doesn't help either. While the coat is a light silver-gray, their little faces are black. It's difficult to capture this range of contrast in a photo and often the detail is lost in their faces. To overcome this, the photographer can try using fill-in flash to add light to the monkey's face and put highlights in its eyes, but you need to be fairly close for this work. Speed and Agility Monkeys rely on their speed and agility to escape predators, so they don't hang around posing for photographers. If you do find a group that is comfortable with people around, then seize your chance and grab the camera - such photo opportunities don't happen often. To find out more about monkeys, see our Vervet Monkey Information page. Monkey Captions: Row 1: 1.Monkeys foraging for food, Kruger NP, S Africa 2.Monkey sitting at base of tree, Kruger NP, S Africa 3.Monkeys foraging for food, Kruger NP, S Africa Row 2: 1.Monkey climbing along branch, Ndumo GR, S Africa 2.Adult male vervet monkey, Victoria Falls, Zambia 3.Monkey sitting in tree, Victoria Falls, Zambia Row 3: 1.Young monkey eating, Ndumo GR, S Africa 2.Two monkeys climbing tree, Ndumo GR, S Africa 3.Monkey in tree, Ndumo Game Reserve, S Africa Row 4: 1.Monkey perched in tree, Ndumo GR S Africa 2.Monkey climbing along branch, Ndumo GR, S Africa 3.Monkey about to jump from branch, Ndumo GR, S Africa Row 5: 1.Monkey climbing in tree, Ndumo GR, S Africa 2.Monkey having a good scratch, Ndumo GR, S Africa 3.Monkey in tree, Victoria Falls, Zambia Return to Wildlife Galleries

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