Beware Baboons

The Baboon is much larger than the vervet monkey and a lot less cute.

Tourists have more close encounters with the primates than any other animal, simply because they are much more intelligent than other species and have learned that tourists can be an easy source of food as well as other trinkets, so never leave your mobile phone unattended.

On one trip we were staying in a lodge built into the side of a fairly steep hill, so it had three or four levels all with magnificent views. One morning I was standing on the top terrace, looking out over the plains, there was a young couple on the terrace below doing the same thing and chatting. All the terraces had walls around them, about waist height for the safety of visitors. I was watching a huge male baboon make his way over towards the base of the hill just below the lodge, he moved out of sight and I didn't think much of it, until about two minutes later when he popped up in front of the young couple and hopped over the wall. You don't realise how big the males really are until you see them up close. They both stepped back in surprise, well, the guy did, the girl actually ran away screaming. The baboon promptly grabbed hold of one of the handles of a bag that had been at the girls feet. I was quite impressed with the reaction of the guy as he immediately grabbed the other handle and a tug of war for the bag ensued. I wouldn't have put money on the man but fortunately he won, which was lucky because the bag contained all their money, their passports and their tickets home! It could have been a disaster for them.

They have also mastered the tecnique of unzipping tents and ransacking the place while you are out. I have experienced this first hand, luckily for me only my crisps were taken, so its a good idea to use a padlock, even when going to the toilet, they can be very quick.

One of the scariest moments for me was while we were camping in a wooded area, the campsite had a large troop of baboons living in the area. At night they like to sleep in the trees where it is safe, but the noises they make are un-nerving, especially when walking through the trees to get to the toilet, in the pitch black of the night. The torch I was carrying only lit up a small area of ground in front of me and the screams from the baboons sounded so close. I was so relieved to get back to the tent unharmed, after that I made my husband accompany me and stand guard.