There is something about the appearance and behaviour of vervet monkeys that draws humans like a magnet. After all, look at this mother cradling her baby whilst eating seeds from a pod in the early morning light.

Her baby is fast asleep and the mother looks content. What is there not to love about this creature?

The social interactions of monkeys with each other are fascinating to observe, especially as they peacefully go about finding food, playing and grooming each other in the bush. So much so that one might be forgiven for thinking ‘Oh cute!’ when sighting a family group such as this one sitting on a table in a picnic spot, for their appearance is very endearing.

Take care and be on your guard though: monkeys that have made themselves at home in areas frequented by humans associate them with food and they are intelligent enough to know the vehicles we get out of are a possible source of further rewards. Keep your windows tightly closed!

As you can see below, even the smallest gap will be investigated. Humans are the real problem though for it is as a result of visitors offering them food that these monkeys become to associate, vehicles, tents, chalets and caravans with something to eat. Wildlife is supposed to be left wild, yet so many people cannot resist interfering.

Yes, monkeys are cute to watch but their presence at a picnic site, for example, makes it impossible to enjoy a picnic! While a friend and I stood outside our truck to have a bite to eat [the tables all had monkey ‘squatters’ on them], one monkey detached itself from the group nearby and approached us like a mendicant. My friend retreated to the safety of inside of the truck as the monkey crouched down and began to hiss at me. I could see it was about to jump to get the food I had not readily offered it, so got in and shut the door too. Note that while I might have felt I was about to be attacked, the monkey was probably more focused on the food than on me.
The national parks display signs warning visitors not to feed monkeys or other wildlife. Such visitors are transient and do not have to live with the long term consequences of their behaviour. They ignore the fact that once monkeys have become habituated to us they actually suffer because of our short-sightedness and may end up having to be euthanized once they become a danger to other visitors.
