Baboons in Kommetjie gatecrash pre-primary’s lunch party
Baboons in Kommetjie have been gatecrashing the Kommetjie Eco Pre-Primary and helping themselves to lunch. Although baboons in the area is nothing new, this left some of the children scared.
Pre-Primary principal says it is not unusual
Stella New, the principal of Kommetjie Eco Pre-Primary, who has been a part of the school for 29 years, said it was not a new occurrence as they had baboons in and out of the property over the years. However, the recent visits to the pre-school are more frequent than usual, as reported by IOL.
She mentioned that the baboons were in the playground several times last week. They walked right into the classroom where the kids were having their lunch.
One baboon came into the classroom, sat down, peeled and ate a naartjie. Afterwards, he went into the kitchen where he took a 2kg bag of sugar.
Although some of the children are scared and traumatised by the baboon visits, New said that the baboons will not harm anyone unless they feel trapped.
Baboons in Kommetjie
Kommetjie is a village on the west coast of the Cape Peninsula. It neighbours are Ocean View to the east and Scarborough to the south. The closest town is Fish Hoek on the east coast of the Peninsula.
Baboons are not an unusual sight in Kommetjie. In a letter to False Bay Echo, a reader wrote that baboons play a big part in Kommetjie’s natural heritage.
“They [baboons] are our responsibility to take care of. When you move to Kommetjie, you move in with the baboons, into their territory.”
Reader’s letter to False Bay Echo
Residents say a lack of baboon management strategies is causing increased human-baboon conflict in the area, as reported by Daily Maverick.
Baboon attacked with pepper spray
In a recent incident, someone sprayed a baboon with pepper spray. This caused the disoriented baboon to injure itself on an electrified fence when it tried to escape.
The Cape of Good Hope SPCA said that the situation escalated when animal activists, attempting to protect the baboons, clashed with the residents. SPCA inspectors were called to the scene and promptly intervened. They rescued the injured baboon and consequently transported it to their wildlife department for medical care.
Do you think it is okay for people to use harmful ways to chase away baboons or are people the intruders in the baboons’ territory?
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