The Vervets

An intriguing band name or in this case, three rather rambunctious monkeys in who’s company you would often find me most afternoons. I was one of the few that tolerated and grew to enjoy their less than tender grooming. Being a daily visitor to their world also meant that I soon gave up on having frequent showers, as I would invariable become filthy again once back in their company. I also learned quickly that it’s a ridiculous exercise to try and clean their water hole while they are still in the enclosure. It is possible to empty it, but they have so much fun playing around and on you that you’re soon covered in hundreds of muddy paw prints and when you try and refill the water hole, it is far from clean. Lesson learned.

They were also hyper attuned to the emotions of the people around them. Those that entered their enclosure with any ounce of fear would soon find themselves at the mercy of their aggressive taunting, hair pulling and biting. If you take it in your stride (harder than it sounds when one of the blighters bites you right on the end of your nose), you’ll be treated to more playful, considerate animals, happy to sit and groom every inch of you. Those with body piercings had been warned. I was even treated to having my recently scabbed baboon scratches picked clean for me. The massive blood stain that soon spread across the back of my shirt was less welcome.

But, every reward has a down side. Being one of the few people who could tolerate their antics, I was more often than not, one of the few that helped to catch them and put them inside the house every night so they wouldn’t freeze. The little blighters however, had other plans, making the task of catching them far from easy. With an ability to climb beyond arms reach, it would sometimes take three of us up to an hour to catch all of them, and rarely placidly. ‘Catch the Vervet’ was a task that no one enjoyed.

Doesn’t mean that I don’t miss the little buggers.