Baboons continue to raid Cape homes
Melanie Gosling
June 01 2009 at 07:49AM



A young female baboon was electrocuted on overhead electric cables in Tokai on Friday while houses in Simon's Town were ransacked by baboons at the weekend, leading to renewed calls for the authorities to pay for monitors to keep the animals away from towns.

Ernie Hardman, of Simon's Town, was shocked when a young baboon whacked his leg hard enough to draw blood as it tried to get past him to raid rubbish bins at the school in the area.

In Tokai, Charles Slijpen said the young female had been electrocuted minutes before he arrived on the scene.

"It was so sad. The body was still smoking. Later the fire brigade had to wait until the power was turned off to get the body down. These baboons climb up the poles and get fried. We really need monitors here to keep them away," he said.


Jenni Trethowan, of Baboon Matters, said the baboon was the second electrocuted in Tokai in recent weeks.

"The baboon situation urgently needs attention in all areas. There is a feeling that things are out of control and residents are not seeing any significant change from the authorities," Trethowan said.

Liz Hardman said the city told residents to "baboon-proof" their houses, but this was not always effective.

"Baboons have got through burglar guards that had 10cm gaps. We're frightened and it's hard to get that across to the authorities. We don't want them to be shot. It's not their fault. But we need help and we're not getting it," Hardman said.

She said many residents wanted the council to adopt the special rating system in affected areas at once to pay for baboon monitors. But the city has said it would take up to three years if it did adopt the system.

The city council's executive director of strategy and planning, Piet van Zyl, said the city would continue with present levels of funding for baboon management beyond this month, when the current funding dried up, "pending the outcome of a process to determine a long-term sustainable solution".

Clive Justus, mayoral committee member for utility services, said the city had provided 3 000 "lockable" bins and their efficacy was being monitored.

melanie.gosling@inl.co.za



This article was originally published on page 3 of Cape Times on June 01, 2009