Nude vervet couldn’t give a monkey’s

MAMMAL experts seem uncertain about why a vervet monkey, at the Umlalazi Nature Reserve near Mtunzini on the Zululand coast, should be hairless.

Professor Colleen Downs, of the School of Life Sciences at the University of KwaZuluNatal, says she has not seen this in vervet monkeys before.

Mammal specialist Professor Peter Taylor, of the University of Venda, also said he had no idea what the cause would be.

Both reported that some primate experts commented that it could be some form of alopecia. In humans, alopecia is a condition in which there is a loss of body hair.

Causes are unclear and, although stress is thought to be a contributor, many people with the disorder lead relatively low-stress lives.

Apparently spontaneous regrowth is possible, even in cases of 100% hair loss.

Animals can also be affected by this disease. The most severe form of alopecia, known as alopecia universalis, has been recorded in primates in captivity. Alopecia in animals can be a sign of underlying disease. Some animals may be genetically predisposed to hair loss, while in others it may be caused by hypersensitivity or nutritional factors.

Dr Leigh Richards, the curator of mammals at the Durban Natural Science Museum, could also not explain the phenomenon, but mentioned a study of lemurs in Madagascar where seasonal alopecia had been associated with eating Leucaena leaves ( Leucaena leucocephala) which contain mimosine, a plant amino acid, which can be toxic when ingested in high concentrations and appears to disrupt the hair follicle cycle.

Such an explanation seems unlikely in this case. These trees have become invasive along much of the KwaZuluNatal coast so, if they were the cause, there would have been many more affected monkeys.

Downs mentioned genetic mutation or parasitic infection as possible reasons for the alopecia in the monkey at Umlalazi. Otherwise, the nude monkey appears to be healthy, foraging nonchalantly with the rest of the troop.

He seems to be accepted by the others. But one can’t help wondering whether he is not a bit cold in winter and susceptible to sunburn during our hot summers.