Despite their perceived commonality, vervet numbers are plummeting in South Africa . Currently there is no definitive knowledge on how many monkeys are left in the wild - what is known is that their numbers have dropped significantly in the last 100 years due to habitat loss and sadly indiscriminant killing by humans. The VMF will soon undertake a census of vervet populations in the Limpopo Province, South Africa, before continuing to neighboring provinces in order to.

Vervets are now more commonly restricted to wherever there is water or protected habitat. Sadly many now live attached to urban presence where food and water can now only be found due to urban development and continued habitat loss. Family sizes, historically upwards of 120 vervets (according to censuses completed in 1890 and 1940), are now approximately 20 – 30 individuals due to continued pressure on available habitat and continued persecution.

South African fruit farmers have unfortunately been detrimental to the health of the vervet population. There is a long-standing misperception that vervets destroy crops, and therefore farmers have killed more vervets than any other group of people. After investigating well over 50 reports of crop damage by vervets in the Limpopo Province, the VMF has determined that vervet behavior does not match crop destruction reported by South African fruit farmers.

Avocado, Mango and Banana are picked and sold when they are grass green, before they ripen. Vervet monkeys rarely eat crops that have not ripened. Vervets eat ripened fruit that has fallen from the tree and is already useless to the farmer. If these crops have been eaten while they are still on the tree, it is because the fruit has ripened while still on the tree, or because the fruit is infected with insects. In this case the monkeys pick the fruit off the tree to eat the insects inside. Vervets entering farm land in search for food therefore present no real threat to the farmer as commercially viable fruit is not eaten by the monkey.

Infact monkeys will seek out insects that damage fruit, in turn protecting the farmer from insect infestation. By eating all stages of insects from eggs to adults, insect populations are naturally controlled without the use of pesticides – The real misconception here is that once a vervet is seen on site he/she should be shot as he/she is about to damage crops. This reason alone has proved detrimental to vervet populations.