No more monkey business
Our Facebook friends share their advice for those pesky visitors in the campsite. You sometimes encounter monkeys and baboons during your travels. So what to do with Mr Baboon and his mates?
Use a slingshot. You shoot only once, and when they see it again, they quickly disappear. A big problem is campers who feed the animals. It makes them come back because they think everyone likes them. We went camping recently and were surrounded by them. The management tried to scare them away with rubbers snakes, but with debatable success. As those in front ran away, the ones in the back just took their place. It was actually kind of funny. The problem isn’t with the people who feed them. The problem is they know that where there are people, there’s food. And they’re not afraid of people anymore and only get smarter. And it feels like we humans are getting dumber. We were at Berg-en-dal in the Kruger recently and a group of baboons destroyed a tent in the camp. When we wanted to scare them away, they started chasing us when we came too close. I also know of a woman who was bitten by a monkey in Letaba. I sometimes use my mother-in-law to scare them away. A rubber snake works like a charm! Just buy a lot of rubber snakes. Put it at the door, windows, and any other place where they’re visible. Believe me, the monkeys and baboons keep their distance. Few things work as well as a BB gun. Baboons and monkeys are almost as bad as my neighbour who thinks everyone wants to listen to his music. We usually just pack our food away and make sure the tent is closed. I vote for the rubber snake. Put one or two close to your tent and it’s the end of your problems. The big thing is to lock up food like chips, sweets, fruit, and bread. These guys don’t miss much with their good sense of smell and sharp eyes. They don’t care if it’s breakfast cereal or milk tart. A cap gun is very effective. You fire off a few shots in their direction and then they stay away. I used it at ATKV Natalia and it worked really well.