What choice did the youngster really have?
On one clear Safari morning we were on the tracks of three lionesses. It led down to the river and with our arrival we spooked some all ready tense monkeys. As they fled over the river we managed to capture a few action shots. I liked this particular one most because you can clearly see the tight grip the airborne youngster has.
Vervet monkey mothers will allow the youngsters to roam free and will normally stay in close proximity to keep an eye on them. With the first sign of danger the mother will pick the baby up and carry it under her stomach to safe cover. The baby soon learns and when it feels threatened will extend the arms asking to be picked up.
Just before landing after a leap the mother will normally hold the baby with one hand to ensure it doesn’t fall. In this case the leap was to great for the mom and after clearing the two meter jump the baby was still able to hold to the mother by itself.
In the end we used the monkeys as our spotters. We simply followed the alarm calls of the monkeys and it led us straight to the lionesses.
