Wikipedia: The
vervet monkeys or
green monkeys are medium-sized
primates from the family of
Old World monkeys. There are six
species currently recognized, although some classify them all as a single species with numerous
subspecies. Either way, they make up the entirety of the genus
Chlorocebus.
The native range of these
monkeys is
sub-Saharan Africa from
Senegal and
Ethiopia down to
South Africa. However, in previous centuries, a number of these monkeys were taken as pets by slavers, and were transported across the
Atlantic Ocean to the
Caribbean islands, along with the enslaved Africans. The monkeys subsequently escaped or were released and became naturalized. The descendents of those populations are found on the
West Indian islands of
Barbados,
Saint Kitts,
Nevis,
Anguilla, and
Saint Maarten. A colony also exists in
Broward County, Florida.
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