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South African garden

Monkey mom snatches a second baby: A photo essay on how the story unfolds in my suburban garden

This post is in the form of a photo essay documenting what happened after a vervet monkey mother, nursing a baby of her own, suddenly took a smaller baby from another mother. 

Although it is common for juvenile and female monkeys to take an interest in infant monkeys and to want to touch and even hold the infants, this is the only time I have seen a monkey with her own small baby take another baby and without permission. This may be unusual or rare behaviour, and it is rare to capture it on camera in a suburban garden. Continue reading “Monkey mom snatches a second baby: A photo essay on how the story unfolds in my suburban garden”

Following the silk road: Processionary caterpillars in our suburban garden: Part 1

Each autumn, dozens of hairy caterpillars congregate on the Cross-berry trees in our garden. These caterpillars are the larvae of the moth named Reticulate Bagnet (Anaphe reticulata). They become conspicuous not only because they congregate in groups on tree trunks and even on plant pots, but they are also noticeable for following each other head to tail in long single-file trails, hence the collective name for this type of caterpillar: processionary caterpillar.

Continue reading “Following the silk road: Processionary caterpillars in our suburban garden: Part 1”

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