Chacma Baboon Report ....and other Papio Ursinus trivia.
2004
I have the privilege of living slap next to a mountain path that the pesky baboons use to cavort down each morning to start their rounds that so harass the humanoids living in Voelklip, my neighbourhood in Hermanus. When baboons are frolicking in neighbour’s yards they are entertaining and a delight to watch. When raiding my own home they drive me crazy and send my dog into a frenzy of action that suffices for the daily exercise.
With summer on the way the local troop rises early and by 7am are on the move and ready for their days forage around the neighbourhood. This morning they had a blast.
Don’t let anyone fool you that our new 'baboon-proof ' trashcans are truly secure from the deft fingers of our smart friends, Papio Ursinus. They merely push them over, fiddle with the catch and crawl inside to forage and toss out the contents to distribute the delicacies to their comrades.
This morning one of the youngsters stole a very fine beach towel off a washing line and traipsed it around the neighbourhood and no about of chasing or cajoling could persuade it to release its treasure. They grabbed a thermos flask and managed to unscrew the lid and drink the contents. Yes indeed, their human-like behaviour is amusing to watch, and they have the ability to make us laugh and also to drive us crazy.
A few weeks back a troop raided a house and the babies, yes this is true, all played in the swimming pool, mummies watching and chomping on contents from the kitchen.
About 9 weeks ago I was undergoing daily radiation treatment. I often told stories of baboon encounters and frustrations to the chief radiation therapist who thought it all very amusing. She then suggested that I use lion poop to scare them away. Yeah sure, and so where do I get the lion poop? Her husband owns a lion sanctuary and fruit farmers from the surrounding area collect the poop and strew it around their orchards in the Paarl and Franchhoek mountain area. I was duly assured that it would work because lion poop, or any carnivore poop for that matter, apparently has a distinctive smell due to a purely meat diet, which makes the baboons give the area a wide berth and has ’Danger, Predators At Large’ emanating from the property in smells that a baboon understands.
(Drakenstein Lion Park www.lionrescue.org.za/)
On arriving the next day for my treatment, she handed me a large sack of very smelly, disgusting lion poop, with instructions from her husband to soak it in a bucket and use the slop to coat the poles and trees. We hefted it into the back of the truck. The smell was revolting and having initially envisaged painting the roof with it, I chickened out and left it in the bucket near the bird feeder while I contemplated this deed.
Over the next 6 weeks the baboons ran riot in my neighbour’s yards and left my property alone. The smart critters slowly began to realise that the 'lions' on my property were all ‘contained’ in a white bucket and the fun began again. It is now time to paint the trees and fence posts! But it sure worked wonders for 6 weeks!!!
I thought it very selfish of my husband not to volunteer to paint the roof and fence posts with this goop. He kept claiming that he ‘was busy’. It might have kept the baboons at bay for longer!
This whole lion poop experiment has caused much interest and an immense amount of mirth among local friends in this little enclave of Voelklip. Weekly reports fly back and forth via e-mail on the latest baboon sagas and the results of my precious white bucket with liquid lion excrement. It sure aint dull living in Africa and this local baboon troop gives foreign friends a lot of chuckles.
Penn 2004
April 2010-04-07
Since I wrote the above the baboons became a real menace. I was hauled onto the Municipal Baboon Action Committee. Nature Conservation Department got involved. Baboon monitors came into action and chased the babs up the mountains and away from the suburbs. The clever critters sneaked down alternative paths and evaded the monitors. The monitors got drunk and fell asleep under the bushes. They ‘lost’ (sold/stole) their communication radios, their unfiorms and broke their bicycles. People got angry and baboons were shot and wounded. Some were taken to the Animal Clinic and had CT scans to see how many bullets and shotgun pellets were in their bodies. Some went to a rehab facility and some were euthanized. Residents were traumatized by baboons in their homes and some had to go for trauma counselling. They learned to push their babies through fan light windows to raid kitchens. They learned that many people resorted to putting their fruit bowls in the oven so they immediately went and opened the oven doors. They open kitchen units and the fridges, spread food, cereal, rice, sugar and all else over the floor, crap on the kitchen surfaces, pee on the floor and smear fruit everywhere. In other words they have a real good time and fill their bellies.
The municipal baboon action committee, at vast expense, erected an electric fence the length of our mountain and the babs soon learned to vault over it like Olympic pole vaulters.
There are weekly reports of their raids. They are just very very smart. They no longer bother us as we moved to a village 20km away. We still see them on the road to town and my dogs hate them. I whisper very quietly ’baboooons….’ when I see them, and all the dogs instantly waken, peer out the car window barking wildly. The baboons used to tease my dogs unmercifully hence the hatred.
They continue to breed prolifically and numerous troops now dwell along these mountains. I must admit they are very amusing to watch and their babies are just darling. I do wish people would stop shooting them. Many are riddled with bullets and pellets. It makes them aggressive and must be so painful. There are many aspects of our human race I abhor. This problem basically stems from humans feeding them, thinking they are cute and funny and the consequences have become a nightmare.
Penn. April 2010
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