Cape Town - Conservation lobby groups and activists have intensified their calls to the City of Cape Town to reinstate rangers to the Constantia 2 baboon troop.
This after a recent incident where several shots were fired at members of the troop, resulting in police, law enforcement and the SPCA being called to the scene.
The City attributed the withdrawal of the rangers to the unfavourable forest environment and the rangers’ lack of access to residential properties.
It said the growth in the baboon population affected the allocation of rangers to new troops. The City further said that its service provider advised residents on baboon-proofing their properties and responsibly managing their waste and bins to reduce access by baboons.
This while the City is currently holding public meetings with residents from baboon-affected areas to discuss sustainable proposals. The Constantia meeting north of Constantia Nek (Constantia 2 troop) is expected to take place on September 22.
Lorraine Holloway from Baboons of the South said they had been e-mailing the City insisting that it meets its contractual obligations and reinstate rangers to protect the troop, but to no avail.
“What is happening to them daily is cruel and inhumane and cannot be allowed to continue,” she said.
Activist Debby Zuanni said the CT2 troop issue was raised in a meeting with Minister of Forestry and Fisheries and Environmental Affairs Barbara Creecy last month and had already been a problem since April.
“I expect more from my city and its government. It distresses me that Barbara Creecy has to come to Cape Town to intervene in the management of our baboon troops. We (Cape Town) should be leading from the front – not catching up from behind.
“We should be doing everything in our power to protect the privilege we have of living close to these incredible primates and we should be proudly protecting them,” she said.
Zuanni said this troop was also visible to tourists convening on Constantia Nek for hikes, who said they cannot believe that there are baboons alongside roads in a world-class city.
“We cannot expect this troop to be left to their own devices for another year until June 2023. And based on the fact that we are now, albeit with a level of wariness, all engaging with one another – we should be able to get this addressed amicably as well,” Zuanni said.
She said the City’s inaction was morally bankrupt.