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 The green monkey is an interesting feature of Barbadian heritage. Farmers call them pests. They were declared serious agricultural pests in 1680 and a bounty was offered by the government for every monkey killed. Scientists want their kidneys. Hunters trap and shoot them, and Barbados tourists hope to see them to leaping from trees.
 | | Green monkeys in Barbados Wildlife Reserve |
There are 10 000 green monkeys living on this tropical Caribbean island – one for every 20 people – and they are sought after for reasons ranging from a bounty on their tails to their use in polio vaccines.
A dozen or so hunters work under the Government’s bounty program, which pays US$7.50 for each monkey killed.  | | Green monkey on tree |
To earn the Government bounty, hunters are required to bring in three inches of the monkey’s tail. They usually cut the end of the tail and leave the carcass behind.  | | Green monkey with turtle |
The Barbados Primate Research Centre meanwhile pays US$25 for monkeys unharmed, arguing the 1 500 brought in alive every year make good research subjects. Sometimes, though, the centre takes their kidneys to make polio vaccines. That has angered animal rights groups but the centre remains a major source of the vaccine - with about 70 percent of the world’s supply coming from its monkeys. The centre sells about 800 monkeys each year to various companies and other research centers, for US$1500 each. Scientists use the monkey’s kidney cells because they reproduce several times without mutating. That means one pair of kidneys from green monkeys can produce many more vaccine doses than cells from other animals.  | | Green monkey eating papaya |
The idea is not to reduce the monkey population, but to keep it stable. Since 1988, polio dropped by 95 percent in the world. Years ago (2003), the research centre and Barbados were blacklisted by animal-rights activists who had posters around London, urging people to boycott the former British colony. The campaign has however done the little to drive away tourists, many of whom venture across the island in the hope of getting a glimpse of the primates.
 | | Monkey eating papaya on the turtle |
The monkeys generally grow to about two feet tall and live in troops of about 15. They have no natural predators on the island, but can be killed by large dogs or mongooses.  The green monkeys found in Barbados (Chlorocebus Aethiops Sabaeus) originally came from Senegal and the Gambia in West Africa approximately 350 years ago. Historians believe the monkeys arrived on slave ships from West Africa in the 17th century, either as pets or as food. Today, islanders have a love-hate relationship with the small primates for white there are those who keep them as pets, there are others who have good reason to regard them as nuisances. About 75 generations have occurred since these monkeys arrived in Barbados and, as a result of environmental differences and evolution; the Barbados monkeys today have different characteristics than those in West Africa. This is probably as a result of our climate and interbreeding amongst themselves.
 | | Green monkey feeding |
 At birth green monkeys have little fur. This is why young green monkeys seem to have a blue color. As the monkey develops, its fur thickens and becomes a brownish-grey color. Its coat has specks of olive green and yellow.
They are now mainly found in Barbados in the secluded and woody parishes of St Joseph, St John, St Andrew and St Thomas. In these parishes it is common to see them running across the road or playing at the side of the road from time to time. For while monkeys can probably be found in every parish in the island – some have even been seen on rooftops on city buildings – in the wink of an eye they are again out of sight. The majority of these monkeys are in the wild but a few are kept as pets and in the Barbados Wildlife Reserve. The green monkey is really shy and tend to dash to the trees if anyone passes. These cute monkeys mainly feed on fruit (banana, mango, papaya).
 | | Don't disturb |
Now you see them… now you don’t! The free-roaming monkeys are generally easy to spot, but if you want to stack the odds in your favor come in Barbados Wildlife Reserve around 3p.m., when feeding take place. Their routine consists of stretching awake at 5 a.m. and sleepily climbing out of their mahogany treetop "beds" at the Wildlife Reserve. Like most other primates, they are active from down to dusk and sleep at night. They clamber over the enclosure and make their way to the adjacent Grenade Hall where they spend a few hours playing, grooming and snacking on what they find along the way, such as small bulbs and tender leaf sprouts.  | | Seating comfort |
As the day warms up they continue to travel through the maze of gullies that criss-cross the countryside within a 6 miles radius of the Wildlife Reserve.But however one feels about this resourceful primate, the green monkey is here to stay with Sandy Lane, the island’s premier West coast hotel, having actually etched a green monkey on the 16th hole of its internationally acclaimed golf course.
More information about Barbados:
Barbados hotels: http://accutravel.net/barbados/hotels
Barbados webcam: http://accutravel.net/barbados/webcams
Barbados weather forecast for 10 days: http://accutravel.net/barbados/weather
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At birth green monkeys have little fur. This is why young green monkeys seem to have a blue color. As the monkey develops, its fur thickens and becomes a brownish-grey color. Its coat has specks of olive green and yellow.;)
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