More monkeys found their way to freedom! 25 vervets were released in the beginning of this year. After the successful release of the baboons last year, hopes were high: they turned out to be masters of adaptation.

Meet Florence

Meet Florence. A very pretty vervet lady with a strong character. She will spend time with her friends, but also likes to sit on her own, arms and legs spread, soaking up the sunshine. Joining the group again at her own time or foraging along with bestie Sarah and boyfriend Madson. Like so many of our other vervets she had a rough start in life. Vervets are very social with strong family bonds. And she lost her mother and all the rest of her family and friends. Sad times. But luckily somebody brought her to the Wildlife Centre. A new chance, a new family! But then the next challenge started, the first test in adaptation. She had to relearn her natural behaviour. How to run and climb, avoid predators, to be social, groom and play with the other monkeys, when to stay and when to run. She went through a long process before she was ready to be released. In the end she had to pass the test: did she adapt well enough to join us in Kasungu??

Adapt to survive

She did well and joined her new family on this great adventure. But survival in the wild can be tough. A new environment again, new food and meeting new creatures of all shapes and sizes. It’s a dangerous world. Survival of the fittest: you will have to adapt to survive.

Florence’s group struggled a bit more than the baboons. Being a lot smaller, they make an easier prey and they know it… They found their new environment very scary and it took them a while to start exploring and find a natural routine. They met predators along the way and Florence lost some of her new friends, including Sarah. A leopard and a very big eagle have been taking out the ones that didn’t adapt fast enough. The vervet technique is to outsmart your enemies and they are learning as they go.

Tough job

By this time Florence knows exactly how to behave to avoid getting caught. This doesn’t mean she’s out of danger, it does mean her chances of survival have improved and are still improving. She adapted very well. She is one of the fittest and is surviving, facing the world with a strong group with strong bonds. Madson is still there. Although he moved up in life, filling the vacant position of alpha male, which put some pressure on their friendship. It’s a tough job, but he is doing very well! At the end of this year we hope to welcome their baby in our group, who will start his life wild and remain wild, adapting and surviving.