ABOUT
BABOONS THAT RAID HUMAN PROPERTIES
To
understand why baboons enter human properties and raid, it is
necessary to understand their behaviour. Firstly, this species is
highly adaptive – they adapt to their environment accordingly. This
means that when humans encroach on baboon territory to build houses,
roads and erect electric pylons, the baboons that have been there for
a very long time are forced to adapt to the changes. They were there
first – they have been around for hundreds of years more than
humans have. It is a common mistake to assume baboons came “down
from the mountains” to “steal” from human properties; all too
often residents complain: “they must go back to the mountain
where they belong”.
Research
has illustrated that baboons tend to sleep in high areas but forage
in low ones where food sources are more nutritional and as humans
tend to live in the low areas, we find ourselves sharing a territory
with baboons.
It
is natural behaviour for baboons to adapt to their changing
environment even when that environment is a human one forced on them.
Why
do baboons enter human properties?
The
short answer is they are attracted onto human properties that have
been erected in their territories because these are age old baboon
foraging paths natural food sources have been replaced with tasty,
special food they can't get anywhere else. Baboons will be attracted
to exotic fruit trees, vegetable gardens, compost heaps, garbage,,
horse/cow feed.... and will also be tempted to enter houses which
display human foods.
How
do I stop them from entering my property?
By
removing or adapting the attraction that is bringing them there. See
our educational material on how to do this.
Does
shooting a troublesome baboon stop them from raiding?
No.
This has never worked. The problem continues.
Why
does this not stop them from raiding?
Usually
it is the adult males that get shot and often it is the alpha male.
Because this male has not been alone in making the decision but has
acted on behalf of the whole
troop, you would be shooting him simply for playing the role which is
expected of him – that being to scout out a human property to check
if there is available food for the WHOLE troop. When an alpha male
gets shot, a new male will take his place and be expected by the
troop to play the same role. If the troop chooses to raid, the new
male will follow their lead and
will scout out human properties to check on food sources. (See the
video below).
The
Rogue Males:
Generally
residents shoot a baboon they have been led to believe is a 'rogue”.
The concept of a rogue baboon is based on misconceptions about baboon
behaviour that have been passed down through the centuries. Residents
may see one or two males on their properties on a regular bases and
are likely to assume these are “rogue males” who have no troop.
This is rarely the case.
Male
baboons leave their birth troops for the first time during puberty
to join a new group. During this stage they are extremely vulnerable
and have no grooming partners or troop leaders to protect and guide
them. As a result they may be drawn to raiding human homes. The
process of joining a new troop can take a few months, so if
residents are patient, the baboon will move on in time.
Residents
are also likely to be fooled into thinking that they have one or two
rogue male baboons on their property when a troop decides to enter a
human area to raid. See the video below). In this case, the top two
males may go into the human area to check on food sources for the
whole troop. Residents seeing only one or two males tend to assume
these are single males without a group. While these males check on
the area, the troop is usually hidden from human view. It is a
misconception to assume these two males are leading the troop top
raid. They are merely their job – playing the role that is
expected from the whole group. To remove them from the troop merely
causes enormous disruption to the group. New males will move in,
relationships will be turbulent and the resulting stress will effect
all related systems.
More
misconceptions about troublesome raiders:
Wild
Primates – vervet monkeys and baboons eat according to a strict
hierarchy – those at the top of the hierarchy get first access to
favourite foods. When you have a fruit tree in season on your
property and a baboon or monkey troop arrives to eat, the top members
of the hierarchy will eat the fruit while those on the lower end will
be left to wait. It is all too easy to assume the top members are
trouble makers when you see them eating your fruit tree.
While
the top hierarchy may be eating your fruit tree, the lower members
may go off separately to find food elsewhere where the others can't
see them.
In
Nature's Valley, a baboon was allegedly stuck in a house for 6 hours
and then shot (illegally as apparently occurs annually). The probably
explanation for this baboon choosing to stay inside was not merely
that there were hostile people waiting outside for him but also
higher ranking baboons from his troop that would punish him for
entering a favourite food spot.
BABOONS
DO LEAVE THEIR TROOPS - TEMPORARILY - TO SEEK FOOD.
What
happens when you shoot a whole troop:
When
you shoot a whole troop, you leave a vacuum for a new troop to move
into that territory. If residents continue to attract baboons and
monkeys with exotic foods or human junk food, the new troop will
eventually start to raid these too.
Giving
Your Power Away:
Feeding
by hand causes enormous problems as it shows the primates that you
are being submissive. In a wild primate troop, one only gives up your
food to those lower than you on the hierarchy – feeding these
animals by hand, gives the message that you are giving away your
power. This results in them expecting food from you in the future.
Wild primates do not feed each other. Not even mothers give their
infants food other than the milk they have to offer.
VIDEO BELOW SHOWS HOW A BABOON TROOP IN NATURE'S VALLEY PLANS ON ENTERING TO FIND FOOD:
Are
Baboons Predators?
One of the common misconceptions about
baboons is that they are far more dangerous than they are in
practice. One reason is that people believe them to be predators who
prey on other animals. We have found along the Garden Route that
baboons will choose to eat vegetable matter over any flesh if it is
available which in this part of the world, it definitely is.
In areas where baboons have adapted to
eating meat it is because they have been pressurised by their
environment – for example, a baboon may kill a baby gazelle in
areas where vegetable food sources are scarce because it is their
natural behaviour to adapt to the food source that is available
there. It is therefore incorrect to assume that this largely
vegetarian species is a predator. They certainly do not eat humans
and usually have no reason to attack them unless severely
provoked/cornered. In areas where they are forced to desperately
compete with people for food, and when humans have lost their power
by feeding the baboons by hand, a baboon may become more aggressive
than normal to obtain food (for example in the Cape Peninsula).
Usually this is merely a threat without any intent to physically
harm. Please read our information about how to deal with these
situations in a way that brings no harm to yourself or the baboon.
