Have The Last Word

In the newspaper the other day I was drawn to a rather funny picture of traffic on a main road in Tokai at a standstill, while a troop of baboons were being ushered across the road and into the forest.  I had a bit of a chuckle because in the picture was a runner, seemingly unperturbed by the troop and heading straight through them.  As a runner myself, had I been faced with baboons on a road like that I would have made a hasty retreat in the opposite direction, forfeiting my run to the baboons.

Being no stranger to baboons from hiking and hearing the stories of baboons chasing people for their food at Cape Point Nature Reserve, I have developed a rather weary attitude towards these primates, which are common all over South Africa.  A little bit of research uncovered that there is an organization which takes guided walks within local Chacma Baboon troops in an attempt to educate people on these animals.

The company who does it is called Baboon Matters and takes walks into the Da Gama and Kommetjie troops.  All the money generated from these walks funds projects which make sure the baboons don’t cause havoc in the towns along the peninsula.

Urbanisation has obviously encroached on the baboons natural habitat which is why they have become nuisances.  Rummaging in bins and terrorising people who they associate with sources of food has caused major conflict with local residents the baboon population has started to dwindle - which has become a cause of concern for Cape Nature Conservation and serious measures need to be put in place to stop extinction of these baboons here in the Cape.

I haven’t personally been on one of these “Walking with Baboons” trails but I’d encourage anyone who is interested to go, I’m going to overcome my fear I think and book a walk – I’ll let you know how it goes.