By Jenni Trethowan | Founder Member
It has been an extremely busy year and Baboon Matters has been hard at work actively advocating for improvements to, and implementation of, effective strategies for management of the baboon human interface. In addition, I spend as much time in the field as possible; in one particularly grim case earlier this year, we uncovered the bodies of 13 baboons thought to have been poisoned and we are actively persuing the matter.
But for this report, I would like to tell you about Big Mama of Da Gama troop. Big Mama was recently savagely mauled and killed by uncontained dogs in the Da Gama Park area of Cape Town, just as her troop mate Crookie was killed some months prior. The two old girls were very well known and loved by both residents and the monitors who work with the troop, and their passing really is the end of an era.
I first met Big Mama in 2002 when Baboon Matters was contracted to manage the Da Gama Park troop, Big Mama was a dominant female and her close group of friends included Crookie (later named Mary) and Lady Godiva. The girls were an extremely tight knit group who partnered with Peter and Carpenter, two strapping young males. In baboon groups, there can sometimes be a split in the group and so it was with Peter and Carpenter who took their small family group to form a new troop.
By then Baboon Matters had lost the contract to manage the baboons and new management strategies included killing so called "problem" baboons. Under these guidelines, Peter and Carpenter were killed; the thinking being that without the males for protection the females would soon rejoin the main group.
But Big Mama did not agree and led the splinter group with great bravery. At one stage poor little Crookie was "kidnapped" as the authorities thought that Crookie was the leader of the group and that without her the girls would return to the troop. Instead Big Mama looked after Crookie's still suckling juvenile and other off spring and waited for Crookie to be returned, which she was some days later.
In her own time Big Mama took her family back to the troop and they stayed together.
Life for baboons with urban neighbours is partcularly tough and in 2017 Big Mama had more heart break when her young offspring Phoenix was badly burnt in devastating fires. Despite some terrible fights with the authorities as I tried so desperately hard to get approriate care for Phoenix, she was left to "recover" and died in great pain from her injuries. The incredible compassion and diligence Big Mama treated Phoenix with was gut wrenching for us to observe; she carried her desperately ill juvenile, drapped on her back, barely able to hold on and lowered her gently to the ground. It was heart breaking.
Big Mama saw some terrible atrocities and cruetly against her family but also had the warmth and love from humans who care and go the extra mile for baboons, and all creatures, and I am always so grateful to those who do make such an effort to be good neighbours to their wildlife.
Big Mama was an absolute legend and her presence will be sorely missed.
In telling Big Mama's story it is my hope that people recognise how unique, charasmatic and special each baboon is, that we see how persecuted they are as a species and make every effort to provide the protection and care they so need.
Thank you for helping Baboon Matters to help baboons.
By Jenni Trethowan | Founder Member
By Jenni Trethowan | Founder member
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