Cape Town - The Animal Welfare Society of SA (AWS) has called on the public to steer clear of a dispersing male baboon that remains on the loose after wandering through Plumstead, Fairways and Ottery.
The baboon, captured walking the streets by residents, is believed to have dispersed from its natal troop at the weekend, and was attacked by residents in Ottery yesterday, who pelted it with stones.
According to the AWS, while authorities were in the process of tracing the baboon from Plumstead to Ottery, some residents had resorted to interacting and stoning the baboon, agitating the frightened animal.
Plumstead ward councillor, Carmen Siebritz, said the AWS had caught up with the baboon on Sunday.
However, due to its agitated state, the animal had slipped away from handlers when the opportunity struck.
Siebritz said when the animal came into the area over the weekend from neighbouring areas, it kept to shaded trees and shrubs and did not interact or cause major disruptions.
“We had an alert to not interact or attempt to feed the baboon, and the majority of our residents adhered to that.
“We had no major incidents, the baboon seemed very calm and settled in our area.
“However, we can’t speak for what happened after it moved to the next community.”
ASW nurse practitioner, Jaque le Roux, said after the animal welfare group had been activated to trace the baboon, authorities had begun monitoring its movements and were working to recapture it before deciding on a way forward.
He said while the team had the baboon in its sight, it had called on residents in the vicinity not to engage with it or try to feed the baboon and to keep their pets indoors.
But some residents had not adhered to the advisory.
“A baboon is a wild animal and should be treated as such. We have called on other authorities, including Law Enforcement, Cape Nature and SANParks to assist in capturing the animal and will walk on removing it from the area. However, it’s disappointing to report how certain residents had taken to stoning the animal,” Le Roux said.
AWS spokesperson, Allan Perrins, said while the baboon could be a dispersed male baboon that left its troop after reaching its sexual maturity age to find an unrelated female to mate with, it might have been kicked out by its former troop.
Perrins said another baboon was also on the loose in the Constantia, but authorities were keeping an eye on the wild animal.
He said once the baboons have been recaptured, relevant authorities would operationalise the dispersing male protocol, which would likely be applied by the baboon management team.