Monkey Eating Sugarcane In My Yard

Living along the coastal region of Kwa Zulu Natal, South Africa, we offer have the pleasure of receiving visits from the troops of Vervet monkeys that freely roam the land. While some say they are a nuisance (the do wreak havoc, stealing food from kitchens and often harming pets when they feel threatened), I love it when the make their way into my garden and i never get tired of watching them.

This morning a rather large troop came to indulge in the pieces of left over sugarcane on the farm next door to us, the sugarcane was recently harvested. They were here for almost an hour and entertained us with their screeching and kid -like games. The little fellow in this picture let me walk quite closely to keep and I got some good shots of him eating the cane, thoroughly enjoying it's sweetness!

In the background you can see the sugarcane fields, which were burnt before the harvest was collected. The cane is set on fire to burn away all the loose debris and leaves, before the stems are cut for collection. After the produce has been removed, the filed are then treated and fertilized before the next seeds are sown. 

I love where I live! Not only do the monkeys visit us, but we also get appearances from otters, large lizards, and a huge variety of bird life, including eagles. 

If you ever visit KZN, South Africa, please do enjoy the monkey's, but we really urge people not to feed them. This does them more harm than good. They get used to being fed and forget how to hunt, they are also fed food stuff which are not good for them and their health. Lastly, while they do seem friendly, there have been instances where they have attacked or attempted to attack humans, so it really is best to keep your distance ( I need to take my own advice)!