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Since the upheaval created by dispersing male Charlie joining the  CT2 troop, we needed a team meeting to go over a few concerns. The last item at the meeting was knocking off time, as the winter months were very wet and extremely cold up in the Cecelia Forest I wondered if the teams could knock off at a slightly earlier time 

Without hesitation all seven men said no it is not possible; they were emphatic that they will only go home when the baboons are safe in their sleep site for the night, and after the tragic death of Millie who had, who for reasons unknown, moved in the dark after the men had left for the day, the guys were not prepared to take chances.

Bear in mind, the budget for the project is exceptionally tight so our teams do not get paid over time at all.  If there is a public holiday, we offer the choice to take the day off or to work for normal pay, we simply don’t have budget for overtime.  

Our teams have never missed a day and are often working well after dark to make sure the troop is safe. They have not moaned about the extra work they now have to do running up and down those steep inclines if the troop scatter when a ruckus breaks out between Quinton and Charlie and you never hear a complaint when they have to walk back to get Big Mama, Sassy or Knoppelkop who may have separated during a fight.

When the recent taxi strikes prevented the team from Masiphumelele getting to work Benson and Donovan worked every day to keep the troop safe. There were moments of exhaustion and extreme frustration - especially when labour on Public Works land chased the troop with stones causing chaos at Constantia Nek and on the roads, but the two men (assisted by Baboon Watch WC and Tokai Baboon Action Group volunteers ) prevailed and after a lot of very hard work got the troop to safety.

I cannot begin to describe how proud I was of these man who work so hard and I thank you for supporting our efforts.

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