Monkey hunting in South Africa

Two monkey species occur in South Africa, the Samago Monkey and Vervet Monkey. The Samango Monkey is a forest monkey and may not be hunted. Vervet Monkies on the other hand are found from the coastal forests of Kwazulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape Provinces to the low-lying inland savannas and along numerous riverine areas even in the semi-arid regions. They spend much of their time on the ground in search of food and are also known as agricultural and residential pests in numerous towns and cities for raiding kitchens, gardens and fruit orchards. Many hunting camps also treat them as vermin as they have a bad habit of pulling grass out of thatch rooves in search for insects to eat. They are best hunted early in the morning when sitting in the upper branches of a tree sunning themselves after a cold night. They are never far from the water and will chatter loudly when alarmed, taking to the trees to hide from danger. Although listed as an animal of least concern by the IUCN they are listed as a CITES II species.