Help Baboon Matters help Baboons!

On Thursday 3 April 2024, I was contacted by Safe Hands Animal Rescue - Franschoek  (SHARF) as they needed help with a young female baboon who had been bravely rescued from poachers.

It is known that an elusive group of poachers are using hunting dogs to prey on wildlife in the beautiful Franschoek mountains and these illegal hunters had managed to catch a juvenile baboon whom was intended to be sold for body parts in the local township.  

The brave SHARF team raced to the scene and managed to snatch the terrified baboon away from the thugs who were beating her, after she had already sustained dog bites to her little body.  The young female was taken to the vet where her wounds were assessed and necessary medication given.  We were all of the opinion we needed to get her back to her troop as quickly as possible as her injuries were not too severe and as there are no rehabilitation facilities available to the Western Cape baboons, her family was the best option.

The SHARF team managed to secure support from the local authorities but as they are not used to working with baboons I offered to go through to help them get Lana Charley back to her mom.  I was very grateful when my friends from Baboon Watch WC offered to come through from Cape Town to help as it was a massive task to find the troop!  We all met up on Saterday morning and started looking.

We spent most of the morning searching and then a lucky tip off directed us to a vineyard owner who confirmed he had seen the troop that morning and he alllowed us access over his land to find them.   I must say I have driven really bad dirt roads in the past, but these steep, mountainous tracks are up there as some of the worst roads I have driven.

We found the sleep site area, but by that time of day the troop had moved off, so we started walking and looking for any sign of them.  I heard the troop, but they seemed to be a way off so I headed back to the team to see how we could get closer, only to discover Lana Charley had taken matters into her own hands and escaped the cage.  

We were very dispondent, how could we find this little baboon on the vast mountain...

Just then the SHARF team received an urgent call that a dog had been shot and they had to race off to get him to the vet.  

Sam, Bonita and I decided to have another look for the troop and see if we could see Lana Charley, so drove further up the track I had walked along, until we could drive no further. Then we got out and walked and within minutes I picked up the tracks of a very small baboon moving swiftly towards the noises of the troop I had heard earlier.  

Lana Charley was moving quickly and in the direction of the troop, we followed as far as we could then decided return to the car and attempt to find the troop from another direction, just to confirm the little girl had joined up with her family.

Regrettably we could not access the site from any other route, but we left knowing that the baboons were in proximity of each other and that there was sufficient daylight hours for her to find her family again.

Lana Charley was very lucky to have been rescued in time and to have received appropriate vet care and then to be given every chance to get back to her troop successfully; sadly Blondie of Tokai was not so lucky.  

Blondie was a beautiful young lad who had dispersed from his natal troop to find a new troop to join, he had moved swfitly over the Cape peninsula and reached a viable troop in Simons Town - only to be killed by an illegal shooter yesterday morning. Blondie had not done one thing wrong, he had not been into houses, infringed humans "rights" in anyway, yet a gun happy shooter killed him.

The abuse against baboons is high and as there are no prosecutions against the shooters, they get away with murder.  The authorities have to step up and start prosecuting offenders!

We have so much work to do; as we were looking for Lana Charley's troop in Franschoek it was clear the numbers of baboons have dropped; nearly everyone we asked responded that they have not seen baboons in "a long time", "years" "not at all".

My grateful thanks to Baboon Watch WC - Sam and Bonita - thank you for all your help and for the lovely images from yesterday.  Thank you to SHARF; to Bettina, Tehila, Abigail and the team, our gratitude for all your do for the animals of Franschoek.

Baboons are increasingly persecuted and our work is essential for their protection. We rely heavily on your support and thank you for contributing to our hard efforts and hope you will continue to support our ongoing work.