Updated
The vervet monkey is a small, grey-green monkey with a black face framed by white fur, common across Uganda’s savannahs, lake shores and towns. It is the monkey most visitors meet first, often at Entebbe, lodge gardens and campsites, where troops have learned to raid food. Adult males are easy to recognise by their bright blue scrotum.
Habits
Vervets live in troops of up to several dozen, led by related females who stay in their birth group while males move between troops. They eat fruit, flowers, seeds, leaves, insects and eggs, and adapt easily to human food. Vervets are famous in science for giving different alarm calls for leopards, eagles and snakes, and troop members react to each call in a different way.
Living with vervets
At lodges and campsites, vervets will take unattended food, enter open rooms and tents and open bags. Keep food out of sight, close doors and windows, and never feed them, which makes them bolder and can lead to bites. Treat any bite or scratch seriously and get medical advice, as monkeys can carry diseases.
Where to see it
Vervets are common in Entebbe Botanical Gardens, Lake Mburo, Queen Elizabeth and Murchison. The gorilla permit costs US$800, or US$600 in April, May and November. See our guides to Entebbe Botanical Gardens, the olive baboon, Lake Mburo and rabies vaccination.
Frequently asked questions
Almost everywhere in savannah and around lakes, including Entebbe and the main parks.
Not usually, but they steal food and can bite if fed or cornered.
Fruit, flowers, seeds, leaves, insects and eggs.
Each call signals a different predator, so the troop knows whether to climb, look up or look down.
