A seven-year-old male baboon has been recaptured after being spotted in several locations, including on the rooftop of a shopping centre in the north of Johannesburg.
The Owl Rescue Centre, which was instrumental in the rescue of the baboon, has named him Elon, saying because he is smart.
The centre’s co-founder Brendan Murray says that after 15 days of moving through the leafy suburbs of Johannesburg to farming areas in Bapsfontein, Elon the baboon has been darted and trapped.
Murray says, “With the males, when they get to about six, seven-years old, they leave their troop. The reason they leave their troop is obviously they’ve reached sexual maturity, and to prevent inbreeding they need to go find another troop. When we got out there, there were a couple of hundred kids running after him. He just went from rooftop to rooftop, and just running in circles, and then this morning (Wednesday) we took him up to Valwater, which is in the Lephalale area in Limpopo. They’ve got a baboon rehab there.”
Baboon monitoring programme
It’s believed about 500 of these primates are roaming the Cape Penisula, knocking at those homes, encroaching on what is considered their natural space.
Animal troops have grown in numbers, while the space remains the same leading to conflict between humans at the encroaching vineyards and suburbs.
As the primates swing from trees to surrounding properties, the city of Cape Town said communities are not educated enough about baboon-proofing their properties. Because humans and wild animals have now to co-exist.
Mayoral Committee member for Spatial Development Eddie Andrews says, “A recent survey that we’ve undertaken shows that most people are not aware of what a baboon-proof property looks like, things like not putting out dog food during the day. We are looking at baboon-proof bins that baboons can’t open.”
VIDEO: In May, the City of Cape Town scrambled to improve its baboon monitoring programme:
