[imagesource: Baboon Matters / Facebook]

Part of what makes living in and around Cape Town so special is our proximity to the wildlife.

You can swing past Boulders Beach for a look at the African Penguin, caracals are frequently sighted, and for those who live closer to Cape Point, baboons come with the territory.

(Pay close attention and you may even see an influencer in the wild, although I wouldn’t mind if those became less frequent.)

The human/baboon balance usually works pretty well, thanks to the hard work of organisations like Baboon Matters and Human Wildlife Solutions (HWS), but tensions have flared up between the two regarding the euthanasia of two baboons in Kommetjie last week.

On Saturday, Baboon Matters posted a lengthy Facebook post detailing the fate of Twiggy the baboon and her daughter, who were both killed on Friday, May 22.

Some of that post below:

On 14 May 2020, at 10h30 there was an incident whereby a dog attacked a mother baboon who was with her juvenile daughter. The dog attack was reported to the HWS area manager on the day, and in a brief conversation with HWS director Dr Richardson on Thursday 21 May at 16h30 he confirmed that they had been aware of this specific injury for a week.

In the week that they were aware of the injury no veterinary assessment or treatment was provided.

During the course of the week Kommetjie residents who were reporting concerns about the injured baboon were directed to contact HWS and SPCA.

On Friday 22 May, the vet came out and “euthanised” both Twiggy and her daughter; the reasons given were that Twiggy “possibly” had a broken shoulder, ear infection and poor overall condition.

It’s here that the anger becomes clear, with the post saying that Twiggy should have been given treatment and care (the suggestion was both baboons being trapped and rehabilitated before a release back to their troop) before euthanasia was considered.

Baboon Matters then suggested that “HWS do not have the skill set to trap, assess and care for injured baboons”, and that duties should be handed over to animal welfare organisation and local veterinarians.

You can read that post in full here, with the same page also sharing this video over the weekend, showing the condition of Twiggy and her baby:

Residents who had concerns were encouraged to email ward 61 councillor Simon Liell-Cock.

In response, Liell-Cock says that despite the concerns of animals rights activists like Baboon Matters, proper assessments were carried out by the baboon management team.

Cape Town ETC with the findings of the HWS team that led to the euthanasia:

The female adult baboon was judged to be old and extremely thin, with teeth in poor condition, as well as a poor body status of 1/5 on May 22, 2020…

The veterinarian suspected a break on the humerus or scapula – hence the baboon was not using one arm.

The juvenile baboon was euthanised as it was still suckling and totally dependent on the female adult baboon.

Image: Baboon Matters

The adult female kept to the periphery of the Slangkop troop due her difficulty in moving and foraging as a result of her injuries. Adoption by another adult female is rare in baboons and this infant required suckling.

The SPCA were advisers to the drawing up the City of Cape Town Guidelines for Baboon Management (updated in March 2019) which states that all suckling juveniles must be euthanised if the adult female mother is severely or fatally injured – and is to be euthanised on humane grounds.

Leill-Cock added that the decision to euthanise both came from HWS, a veterinarian appointed by CapeNature, and a baboon specialist from the Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa.

“I can assure you that, despite what you may hear from animal rights activists, the scientists, conservationists and field teams working on the baboon issue are the most advanced in the world,” Leill-Cock said.

“They are indeed caring conservationists and they too are distraught at each death but they always do what is in the best interests of the animals.”

However you look at it, the death of two baboons is sad.

You can read the rest of Leill-Cock’s response to the criticism here.

[sources:baboonmatters&capetownetc]