Stop monkeying about
New plan hopes to resolve conflict between humans and baboons on the peninsula
Decades-long conflict between baboons and humans in parts of the Cape Peninsula is being addressed in a new plan, with hopes of a solution higher than before.
Agencies responsible for conservation and biodiversity believe joint efforts will help humans and wild baboons to coexist on the urban edges of the peninsula.
A draft plan for a “sustainable new approach” to chacma baboons has been released by the Cape Peninsula Baboon Management Joint Task Team for comment by the end of this month. The team represents South African National Parks (SANParks), CapeNature and the City of Cape Town.
Heated discussions of the proposals indicate that conflict among people over how to manage wildlife is often greater than conflict between people and wildlife. This is especially true where luxury properties and vineyards appear to be at risk of baboon raids.
There are about 630 baboons in about 16 troops on the peninsula and the draft plan says they play an important ecological role, contributing to Cape Town’s rich biodiversity. They also attract local, national and international tourists.
The baboons have lost a substantial portion of their preferred low-lying land to residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural developments.
“This has resulted in human-baboon conflict, whereby baboons, with no threat of predation, regularly enter the urban space to access easy pickings and high-energy human-derived foods,” the plan says.
“When baboons access residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural areas, conflict arises and they can become a nuisance, damage property and/or threaten the safety of people and their households.”
Attitudes towards baboons vary from strongly positive to blatantly intolerant. Conflicts have resulted in injuries and deaths among baboons and damage to property.
The draft plan envisages steps to investigate and determine “appropriate population control methods”. It calls for improved waste management, baboon-proofing of properties and infrastructure and fencing “strategic hotspots”.
Studies show that limiting baboons’ access to food sources and human-dominated habitats reduces the time they spend in those environments, resulting in fewer human-baboon conflicts and injuries and deaths caused by humans, the plan says. “As baboons are shown to be highly adaptable, methods and tools for limiting access to humandominated habitats will constantly need to be reviewed.”
The draft is silent on funding for the plan, though it mentions the investigation of “special rating areas and other mechanisms to secure and manage community resources”.
The task team will establish a baboon advisory group with representatives of community groups, such as ratepayers’ associations, businesses, landowners, advocacy groups and research institutions.
The City of Cape Town has outsourced its urban baboon programme, which employs rangers to monitor troops and prevent negative interactions. The contract with NCC Environmental Services expires on June 30.
The task team held a recent workshop in Tokai where interested parties discussed the draft. Of concern to participants was that there was not a clear plan for a transition period to the implementation of the plan. Jenni Trethowan, founder of Baboon Matters, called for people to be fined and prosecuted for shooting baboons and not managing their waste. Residents need baboon-proof bins before the end of June, she said.
Gordon Chunnett, of the Constantia Ratepayers’ & Residents’ Association, said the public needed an assurance that their properties, families and pets would be safe. “We are under threat continuously by unmanaged troops.”
Lorraine Holloway, of the Baboons of the South lobby group, called for the SPCA to be added to the task team as many aspects of the plan affect baboon welfare.
Human behaviourists should be included in discussions about the plan, says Di Botha of Wildlife ACT.
“We need to understand human behaviour in response to baboons.”
This is crucial to designing communication for behavioural change, Botha tells the FM. “Are we here to try to find stronger ammunition, better fences, ways of euthanising, managing, sterilising? What are we here to do? The one component that was painfully absent was to understand how we can live in harmony with wildlife. It’s our role as the primary mammal to protect the mammals around us.”
Luthando Dziba, SANParks’ managing executive of conservation, says having the three government entities work together has been refreshing.
“It brings a lot of optimism that we will finally succeed in developing an effective strategic plan for sustainable management of baboons in the Cape Peninsula.
“It also marks an end to finger-pointing because the three entities are taking collective responsibility for baboon management and intend to work together with local communities who live adjacent to baboons’ natural habitat, and other key stakeholders such as the Cape of Good Hope SPCA.”