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Primates occupy a liminal space between humans and animals. On the Caribbean island of St. Kitts, translocated vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus) are respected creatures, yet they cause problems. Vervets regularly consume crops on farms and are considered “pests”; still, Kittitians express empathy and understanding for them based largely on the monkeys' display of human-like behaviours. Using data from interviews with 64 Kittitian farmers, we deconstruct the symbolism of the vervet monkey in St. Kitts and analyse how farmers give the monkeys identities that are meaningful only within human social expectations. Our findings reveal that Kittitian farmers consider monkeys to be clever and emotive, displaying complex intentions such as revenge and remorse. Yet, crop-foraging behaviour is a regular and negative experience for the majority of farmers in this study, and the monkeys' presence itself is a constant reminder of the multitude of challenges farmers face in a newly adopted tourism economy that no longer prioritises agriculture. Our results reveal that while vervet crop consumption is a significant problem in St. Kitts, it is the monkeys' boundary-crossing status that drives the growing mentality that “the monkey problem” is completely out of control.

Free‐ranging vervet monkeys ( Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus ) currently reside on the Caribbean islands of St Kitts, Nevis, Barbados, St Martin/St Maarten, and Tortola. The St Kitts, Nevis, and Barbados populations exist as a result of humans translocating them from West Africa, and the St Martin/St Maarten and Tortola populations are the result of escaped or released pets brought in from St Kitts and Nevis. Little research has been done on the Nevis, St Martin/St Maarten, and Tortola populations, but the Kittitian and Nevisian populations have been subject to a significant number of biomedical and behavioral studies.