Help Baboon Matters help Baboons!

In 2021, Baboon Matters, like so many organizations and NGO’s, has felt the brunt of the international Covid pandemic, but despite these overwhelming limitations we have been able to meet our short term goals and are continuing to work on medium and longer term objectives – all of which are showing positive change.

1. Successes – short term projects.

Emergency Rescue packs
Our priority short term goal this year was the supply of Emergency Rescue Packs. Many animal welfare organisations have limited resources and cannot afford essential equipment such as trap cages, plunge syringe poles etc. Our goal is supply these packs so that injured baboons (or other wildlife) can get appropriate veterinary care.

Wildlife and animal lover Marco Pasanisi used his engineering expertise to design a trap cage that is super-efficient as well a light and easy to use.  We were thrilled to use this new trap cage to train the Greyton baboon monitor team so that, should the need arise, they can quickly trap an injured animal for veterinary care.  

We have gifted the Cape of Good Hope SPCA with a new trap cage and are glad that they have already put the equipment to good use, since they have had the use of the new trap cage, there has been no need to dart baboons or other wildlife – thus saving stress and costs.    

Further work on the  Emergency Rescue Packs is funding dependent and we hope to get more of this essential equipment to areas where it is most needed in the new year.

Insulation of lethal electricity transformer boxes.
Far too many baboons continue to be killed by electrocutions and we were devasted to lose charismatic adult male baboons Khangela and Buddy to the powerlines this year, as well as several juvenile baboons in other troops.   

We have had positive meetings with a local business who supplies the specialised insulating material and collaborative meetings with all role players to ensure that problematic transformer boxes are properly insulated and hope that the City of Cape Town now moves speedily so that the first two pilot projects can be rolled out early in the new year

Support for Prime Crew Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre
We have been able to assist our colleagues at Prime Crew with emergency food supplies as well as help cover a small portion of the costs associated with their first release project in which 28 baboons will be moved to the temporary release site where they will be acclimated for release to the wild.  There are two further release sites and we are hoping that by mid-2022 three troops will have been released to the wild. (funding dependent)

This is a very important project to us all as the baboons so richly deserve the freedom that Prime Crew has worked so hard for and we hope that funding will enable a quick time line and allow other troops to move out to freedom in coming months.

2. Success – medium to long term projects.

Workshop to review and revise guideline to evolve a compromise strategic management plan.

In the past year we have continued to lobby for the workshop proposed by Baboon Matters and Baboons of the South in 2018.  We were thrilled that our unwavering efforts have met with success as we participated in a preliminary meeting /workshop at the end of 2020 and are preparing for a short follow-up workshop on 23 November 2021. 

It will be essential to establish frameworks and a process within which to work inclusively with stakeholders so that positive, inclusive discussion can lead to change and a policy document specific to baboons.

 3. Success – on going.

I am really pleased to report that 2021 has also seen a huge increase in the levels of resident input and more groups working for better baboons protection and environmental sustainability.  

In the face of lack of effective municipal waste management, resident groups have “baboon proofed” many thousands of bins across the Western Cape, residents have undertaken rolling protest actions, filed affidavits against cruelty and made it clear to the decision makers that we expect nothing less than fair ethical treatment for our baboons.

We end 2021 on a positive note, as our beautiful new posters are being deployed  extensively in Simons Town, a current hotspot where baboons come into the urban area regularly and baboons, caracal, porcupines and other wildlife are frequently killed on the roads.  Our goal is to slow the traffic down and encourage humans to manage their waste better!  We hope to get many more posters printed and erected all over the Cape peninsula and see an improvement in waste management and a reduction in road deaths.

Baboon Matters thanks all of you for your wonderful support

We assure you that we will continue working as hard as we can in 2022 where we look forward to reporting on the outcomes of the workshop and a successful release at Prime Crew amongst other projects.