DARWIN PRIMATE GROUP D.P.G.

Baboon or monkey proofing your home.

It's not that I can easily live with an aesthetically, unappealling home. I'm not sure any artist can. But when it comes to the necessity of sharing a territory with wild animals as many of us do, along with the choice, comes tolerance and compromise. If we don't excercise those two options and choose instead to shoot, we undoubtedly contribute to an escalating, damaged environment - one we humans are entirely dependant on for survival, in spite of the level of denial we appear to be in.

These pictures are taken at home where we have resorted to cheap ways of baboon and monkey proofing the home we live in. We have made screens and "intruder boundaries" out of cheap, strong wire or simple insect screening which works for monkeys. For those needing to do something similar in a more artistic manner, there are countless artists who would design beautiful intruder barriors (burglar bars) that will make you wonder why you ever resisted this option in the first place. Just contact me and I will put you in touch with an artist you need.

The wild baboon troop come by regularly and the monkeys as you probably know by now, are orphaned and injured individuals going through rehab.

With these simple, cheap methods of keeping the non-human primates amongst us out, our lives are free of raids, damaged possessions and that indefinable frustrating feeling of feeling helpless in the face of lost possessions.

I find it immensely easy to live with both baboons and monkeys simply because our home is baboon/monkey/human proofed.

And this is why whenever I meet a financially, unchallenged individual who justifies their killing of our indigenous primates, by saying it costs too much in money or effort, I despair at the nature of humans - the unwillingness to look at life with fresh eyes and embrace new ideas that may help our dying environment.

The closer I am led into the intimate lives of vervets and baboons and other non-human animals, the more I understand that it is humans who need rehabilitation - who need to adapt their lives to live with others, so that the path that damages the environment we share is turned around for the sake of us all.

It is far more peaceful to live in harmony once one makes the decision to compromise and add a few changes to one's home. Try it before you knock it - you'll be contributing to a better world. And you'll wonder why you put yourself through all the uneccessary frustration of living in a way that brings hostility.

Karin.

MISCONCEPTIONS – A THREAT TO OUR PRIMATES.

One of the most pervasive threats facing wild primates are the misconceptions that have been handed down through the centuries. Take the example of baboons being thought to be far more dangerous than they are. Baboons are not predators, do not generally kill other animals for food (1.*Baboons on the Cape Peninsula by Ruth Kansky), and there is allegedly only one account of a human dying from a baboon attack. While they have the weapons to inflict damage on others, these weapons are used to intimidate non-violently more often than not.

Generally baboons practice enormous restraint. The sight of a large adult male displaying, running fast, hair on end, breaking branches and wa-hooing is a formidable scene, sending shivers of fear through the bravest of us. This display is intended to intimidate and is used to attain a goal usually from others within the troop. It is rare for violence to be involved. Baboons do not go out of their way to attack dogs and will generally tolerate chasing dogs that do not pose a threat to the group, even playing with them. But when you are the “owner” of a much loved dog, the sight of a big baboon reacting by chasing the dog away, usually evokes a magnified fear that the dog will be hurt. Large dogs seriously intent on hurting baboons may be attacked and packing dogs will be treated as a serious threat, but on the whole, baboons practice tolerance, not going further than a mere threat designed to warn the dog not to get too close.

I was reminded of the tremendous restraint practiced by baboons recently when a wild troop came close to a territory long inhabited by a vervet monkey group. It’s commonly believed that when monkeys and baboons are forced to compete over resources, the monkeys will give way.

While young baboons and monkeys may play together, when resources are truly low and these two species are forced to compete, monkeys have allegedly sometimes been killed. In this case the alpha male vervet threatened the alpha male baboon who moved off slowly then sidled up to a few monkeys close by and threatened them instead. This is common primate language: “if I can’t go after you, I’ll go after someone close to you”. It is akin to blackmail.

But the surprising aspect of this redirected threat is it showed that the baboon was accepting a submissive position in relation to the alpha vervet – he was accepting that the vervets had first access to the territory and food it contained. The motive when translated states; “I am going to frighten you into handing over your food”. We forget to notice the restraint practiced by baboons, assuming instead that an intimidating threat will likely lead to harm. In this case, while the baboon could easily have grabbed any of these monkeys and caused serious damage, he chose not to. He was pushing his luck, trying to get food, as all opportunistic primates tend to do. But he gave way, moved off and left the vervets to eat in peace.

While we need to be vigilant about not cornering or threatening a baboon that has entered a home, by using passive body language and ensuring there is an escape route, we also need to remember not to panic and to understand that unless severely threatened, it is highly unlikely a baboon has reason to attack.

*1. Baboons are highly adaptive and some troops in certain areas are known to kill young antelopes. This is an adaptation.

Snared Baboon - Trapped, Healed and Released. November 09

Watching this four year old male baboon with his troop of forty plus companions had been heart breaking. The snare tightly wrapped around his neck limited his movement and he held onto a half a metre piece of wire with one hand while walking on three limbs.

How was I going to trap him? One baboon in a group of forty.

At first Rolf Lamprecht, a vet based in Knysna, came out to see if he could dart him but due to the troop being particularly persecuted, it was impossible to get close enough. I had to make another plan.

It took four days of intense baboon psychology to trap him. John had performed a miracle by building a strong trap when we could not locate one elsewhere. And it certainly seemed as if the chances of us saving him were too slim to hope.

But it worked. Once trapped, Rold came out to dart and treat him. He was then released. His wound are healing beautifully.

Baboons Still Being Killed in Nature's Valley.

Baboons are being killed in Nature’s Valley if I am to believe the annual reports that come my way. For the last three years, a resident who prefers to remain anonymous – due to the implications of living in a small seaside village where social and business relationships are integral to one’s daily life – has notified me of these illegal shootings.

When I first tried to expose the shooting of two baboons in Nature’s Valley a couple of years back it was quickly covered up, fobbed off as rumour and forgotten by most. Cape Nature has informed me that to bring these crimes to book I would need evidence; the investigative work is therefore up to the public rather than the authorities. Because the perpetrators get away with it, the shootings have continued; allegedly the alpha male of the Nature’s Valley troop was shot a couple of weeks ago.

Having observed the baboon troops in this area for some years, I am well acquainted with their behaviour. Unlike the Cape Peninsula where baboons and humans have been forced to work out a relationship due to the baboons being cut off by development, our baboons act quite differently and a respect for human boundaries is generally displayed. It is highly unlikely your bag or sandwich would be snatched out of your hand. However on properties where they are used to being fed by hand, they may threaten with the sole purpose being to intimidate you to hand your food over. This is merely a threat, not an “attack”.

I urge Cape Nature to investigate these allegations and ask for proof of these so- called attacks before accepting these invented stories. After all our simian cousins cannot speak up for themselves and are constantly placed on trial with a barrage of mythical crimes leveled against them, their fate almost always resulting in an unfair death penalty.

Rumour has it that baboons have had to be shot in Nature’s Valley as humans were in danger. This amounts to ludicrous fiction – created by those who need to justify their crimes.

As far as dogs are concerned, baboons do not attack dogs unless a troop member is seriously threatened. They know each dog as an individual and are aware of their potential danger to their own species. But mostly our troops are extremely tolerant of dogs, allowing them to chase and provoke provided that is what the dog intends.

Sadly these deaths could have been avoided if Nature’s Valley had dealt with their garbage in a manner that does not attract wildlife for it is known that bad refuse management is the main reason why wildlife is attracted into human areas.

I urge the environmentally caring residents and visitors to Nature’s Valley to expose the perpetrators of these killings, and for Sanparks to erect baboon proof bins at their campsite. Those who are aware of wildlife being harmed in Nature’s Valley should contact the N.S.P.C.A or Cape Nature.

Shooting a raiding baboon has proved again and again to be ineffective against raiding yet it continues. This ensures that troop structures will be severely damaged with long term effects that impact on all related systems.

To find out more on co-existing peacefully with monkeys or baboons, visit the Darwin Primate Group website: http://www.darwinprimategroup.blogspot.com/

Karin Saks
Darwin Primate Group.