Baboon Wars
SEAFORTH AND WATERFALL TROOPS SET FOR INHUMANE CAPTURE AND SMALL ENCLOSURES
Cape Town’s contentious decision has ignited a fierce, polarized debate. Municipal authorities justify their actions by citing escalating incidents of urban raiding, intensifying human-baboon conflict, and substantial public safety concerns. Conversely, a broad coalition of residents, conservationists, and animal welfare organizations contend that the Seaforth and Waterfall baboon troops should retain their autonomy as free-roaming animals. They assert that Simon’s Town should prioritize overhauling its dysfunctional municipal waste management, which is a root cause of baboon incursions. Critics decry the City’s measures as authoritarian overreach, accusing officials of employing heavy-handed, Stalinist tactics to suppress dissent and undermine the community’s cultural heritage. Notably, Simon’s Town has been systematically excluded from receiving baboon-proof bins,first proposed in 2011, ostensibly due to the City’s intention to capture and remove the Seaforth and Waterfall baboons.
Cape Town's Planned Baboon Capture
A capture of two entire, cohesive wild troops of this size operating simultaneously across mountains, urban roads, and dense residential areas has never been attempted in South Africa and certainly not in the Cape Peninsula. Historically, wildlife authorities in South Africa have captured and relocated individual "dispersing" males or small splinter groups, and even this has led to death in some cases. Attempting to trap and transport a fully intact, socially complex troop of baboons out of a bustling town like Simon's Town is unprecedented and highly experimental. The extraordinary complexity and risk of this specific operation stem from several factors:
The Logistics of the Urban-Mountain Grid
The Waterfall troop regularly moves between the steep, rocky terrain of the Table Mountain range and the tarred streets, rooftops, and backyards of Simon's Town. To capture them, authorities must set up trapping cages on the urban-wildlife edge and in their foraging grounds using a baiting and trap method. Managing logistics, such as transporting heavy wildlife crates and emergency veterinary equipment, presents a major operational challenge.
The "Copycat" Intelligence of Baboons
Baboons are highly intelligent, communicative, and observant primates. If authorities trap the first 5 or 10 baboons, the remaining troop members will immediately see the danger, sound alarm calls, and scatter into the inaccessible heights of the mountains or hide deep within the suburban grid. Once a troop learns what a trap looks like, they will actively avoid it, turning a "whole-troop capture" into a months-long, stressful game of cat-and-mouse
The Risk of Urban Chaos and "Darting" Hazards
If wildlife veterinarians resort to chemical immobilization (using dart guns) within the residential zone, the risks multiply: • The Flight Response: A darted baboon does not fall asleep instantly. It will typically panic and run. • Physical Dangers: Anesthetized baboons can easily fall from high roofs, slip down steep mountain cliffs, or wander into oncoming traffic on main roads before the sedative takes full effect.
Human Interference and Public Spectacle
Unlike operations conducted in remote national parks, this capture will happen in plain view of the public. Simon's Town is a highly condensed residential area, and local activist groups have already stated they will actively monitor the perimeter. The presence of shouting residents, protesters, and media on suburban streets will drastically increase the baboons' stress levels, making an orderly capture even harder. Because no mass relocation of this scale through an urban-mountain interface has a successful historical precedent, conservationists and animal welfare organizations argue the plan is an unpredictable gamble that could cause severe trauma, injury, and death to the Baboons.
Legal and Practical Roadblocks facing Baboon Capture
The actual capture has not started yet due to major administrative and civic resistance: Permit Hurdles: The authorities (the CPBMJTT) cannot legally touch the troop until CapeNature officially grants the required Section 29 Capture/Transport Permits and Section 31 Captivity Permits. However, it seems that, despite the immense public outcry to halt the baboon capture it is forging ahead while the decaying Simon's Town Naval base and gross waste mismanagement dictate the fate of our iconic Baboons.
Baboon Capture Permits Legal and Ethical Roadblock
The government should declare an immediate halt to the current baboon management plan and commission international independent experts in primate behaviour and ecology who will be able to offer an extensive impartial review.
Several local Baboon sanctuaries have closed in the past and been subject to scrutiny and collapse where the vitcims of this have always been the baboons.
It's time for the City of Cape Town and its developers to reflect on our natural heritage and recognise that baboons are part of the reason why millions of visitors flock to our coastline. Our wildlife and fynbos environment are part of what makes the region unique and Baboons deserve a management approach rooted in compassion and accountability
©LionExpose
Please read this first report
Important notes:
Watch for the next story, which will be some questions and answers from our friend Ian Redmond which we will publish later this week.
LionExpose contacted our friend Dr Ian Redmond OBE an internationally renowned primatoligist and elephant conflict specialist.
We will publish his report here soon.
Thank you for highlighting this as we hope the city cannot be like a dictatorship and these are Iconic Baboons. Simon’s Town and the Naval bar must clean up their waste and be held liable I hope their is a forensic audit into the previous and current contracts which were first with Human Wildlife Solutions, then NCC and now Shark Spotters. Both NGOS were awarded contract of over R100 million. The common factor is Oceans Research and a division at UCT