Baboons, monkeys fight for food with humans

http://www.thestandard.co.zw

January 13, 2013 in Community News

GUTU — Marauding baboons and monkeys are wreaking havoc here, digging out
newly-planted seeds, crops and killing livestock.

BY JAIROS SAUNYAMA

The baboons target small domestic animals such as chicken, ducks, sheep and
goats, which are easy to kill.

Villagers who spoke to Standardcommunity last week said they could face
another food crisis this year because the animals were affecting their
farming operations.

The most affected villages include Munemo, Chezira, Murapata and Magaya
because they are near big mountains such as Chiunidza, Tsinga and Cheshumba.

The villagers said the wild animals had run out of food which they usually
scrounge for in the mountains and had resorted to putting up a fight to get
what they wanted.

“Our lives depend on farming and if this problem continues, then we are
going to die of hunger,” said Maria Chingwere of Munemo Village.
“If we plant our maize or groundnut seeds today, the next day you wake up
and the animals would be digging along the lines, plucking out the seeds.”

Another villager, Mathius Majoni, said the animals were also killing
domestic animals.

“Apart from plucking the seeds from the ground, the animals are killing
chickens, guinea fowls, goats and sheep,” he said.
The villagers said at times they tried to scare them away by making noise
and putting scarecrows, but this had failed to stop the hungry animals.

“We spend our time in the fields but the animals continue to troop in. A
troop of baboons is very stubborn and sometimes we run for our lives,” said
Majoni.

Headman Simba Munemo of Munemo Village, said they would soon engage the
Department of Parks and Wildlife Management to assist them in dealing with
the animals.

“This season is worse than before and we are trying to engage responsible
authorities like Parks and Wildlife Management to help us,” he said.

Wild animals like baboons usually come into conflict with people when they
face food shortages.

Sounds like a serious culling mission is in order.
Wish I were close enough to help out.
My 223 bolt rifle would be just right for this little endeavor.

Baboons can be a regular nuisance. They raided the kitchen in our fly camp in Masailand last year. We were pretty well shot out and my PH and I had come back to camp for lunch. We were enjoying a lukewarm G&T when we heard a God-awful ruckus. One of the guys came running up out of breath asking if I wanted to shoot a baboon. Hapana, asante.

Rubber snake, paper bag and bucket of whitewash.

For as long as I have known, monkeys, baboons and bushpigs have been classified as vermin, of no commercial value and to be shot on sight if in the act of crop raiding or posing threat to human life (baboons).
This refers to TZ, it could have been changed but not to my knowledge.