INsimango*: monkeys in the mist
You hear them long before you see anything. They twitter like small birds, while moving through the branches, high in the canopy of the forest giants. Then, if you are lucky, you will see a slight movement, and looking closely, you will see an amazingly long tail drooping from a branch. Only then, as your eyes get accustomed to the green aquarium light of the forest, will you see the Samango monkey.
Samango monkeys are rare (CITES Appendix II) because they are confined to the evergreen Afromontane forests of Southern Africa, which covers less than 1% of the land area of the sub-region (see Afromontane Forests on this site). Unlike the ubiquitous Vervet Monkey, which commonly occurs in the vast stretches of Savanna Woodland, tourists and nature lovers rarely see the Samango.
Only in a few unique places does one have the rare opportunity to come face to face with these graceful little apes. One such place is the Magoebaskloof Hotel in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Because the hotel management is committed to sustainable and environmentally friendly management practices, they have lived in harmony with these monkeys for many years now. Samangoes are seen around the hotel on a daily basis, and some of the dominant males sometimes even venture into rooms to scrounge for edibles left lying around.
Samangoes are active, gregarious, noisy and curious, like most primates around the world. They are also very intelligent, and this makes them successful survivors in rapidly changing environment. But, unfortunately, since the Samango is totally restricted to moist forests, they have little chance of surviving when their habitat is destroyed or overexploited.
* Zulu name for the Samango Monkey (Cercopithecus mitis)
Samango Monkey vital statistics:
Description:
Slightly larger and also darker than the Vervet Monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops).
Total length for males, 1,4m, females, 1,1m, tail 50-70cm, weight males 9,3kg, females 4,9kg.
Habitat :
Totally confined to forests and sometimes plantations
Diet:
Fruit (50-90%), flowers (13%), leaves (26%) and insects (6%)
Life history:
Single young, rarely twins, September to April
Behaviour:
Troops of up to 35 are active at day, and sleep in trees. The troop will patrol a home range of about 18ha, while single males will roam between troops. The most characteristic call is a loud "nyah" which serves as an alarm call as well as a loud booming call. When at rest, the troop communicates with bird like twitters.
Field signs:
Half eaten fruit, pips and peels are dropped from trees.
Key reference: Apps, P. (ed) 1996. Smither's mammals of Southern Africa. Southern Publishers. Halfway House.
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