Baboons and humans coexist
AT A dump site in Caledon, three troops of baboons along with humans compete for whatever scraps they can scavenge.
According to the people who earn their livelihood from the dump, the baboons have been there for decades and over the years the two parties have quietly co-existed.
Baboon Matters has been working on the site since last year when they were alerted to the situation.
Spokesperson Kathy Kelly said the organisation approached the Theewaterskloof Municipality about training baboon monitors for the dump site.
She said the different troops took turns to go to the dump site, and thus peace was maintained.
“One troop feeds and moves on, and another one moves in. There is so much food waste, with trucks bringing in more every day, that there is no conflict over food,” said Kelly.
She said there is a huge variety of food at the site, from vegetables to junk food.
“Like humans, they are at risk of diseases like diabetes. Their natural diet is bulbs, grasses, seeds, fruit, insects and the occasional small invertebrate,” said Kelly.
While there’s been talk that the site would be decommissioned in favour of a housing development, Kelly said their fear was that the baboons have become accustomed to living alongside human beings. Should houses be built nearby they would come into conflict with residents by raiding the houses for food.
While Baboon Matters is not aware of any injuries to the baboons, Kelly said due to the presence of glass and metal among the waste being dumped, there would more than likely be injuries sustained by the baboons and the humans.