The types of baboon injuries that the SPCA documents monthly read like a casualty list from a combat zone, not a tranquil seaside town where tourists sip lattes and admire beaded wire artworks, but the Cape of Good Hope.
The SPCA Wildlife Department treats an average of 22 sick or injured chacma baboons each year from the resident peninsula troops. With this figure anticipated to rise by 57% this year alone, it might be said that Cape Town’s baboon population is in jeopardy.
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One recent incidence featured an adult female baboon who arrived alone on the rooftop of a home, looking ill. A wildlife officer was dispatched to check her condition, and he determined that she needed to be seized and admitted for additional veterinary testing to determine what was wrong.
She was scarcely moving, underweight, unable to keep up with the troops, and obviously shivering with each movement. The other issue was that she still had a 4-month-old baby baboon hooked to her hip, and the demanding youngster was giving her no rest at all.
A juvenile baboon that age could not be separated from its mother without risking abandonment by the troop; thus, it was clear that if the mother was arrested, her infant would follow.
Fortunately, the mum was quickly cage-trapped by an experienced wildlife crew in collaboration with NCC Urban Baboon Programme monitors, and with her young clinging closely to her back, she seemed pretty relaxed at the prospect of a few days of R&R away from the tension of the urban edge.
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At the SPCA short-term care facility, mum and baby were placed in a warm and comfortable enclosure. After a healthy supper and a good night’s sleep, she went to have x-rays, which her kid did not like. X-rays indicated she was carrying nine invasive air rifle pellets.
She had stomach edoema and anaemia, which were not anticipated effects of pellet damage. She received prompt treatment for toxicosis. Incidental poisoning is a persistent hazard to baboons and other species that feed on the urban edge, where overflowing human dustbins and other unsecured rubbish provide a buffet of high-calorie foods and sugary delicacies unsuitable for a wild animal’s digestive system. Baboons are especially vulnerable.
After 5 days of adequate nourishment, stomach medications, probiotics and enough rest in a stress-free environment, mom and her baby boy were given the go-ahead to rejoin their squad. Together with the experienced rangers from NCC, the SPCA wildlife officers drove mother and kid back to their range area and, without further ado, enabled them to calmly re-join the troop, looking and undoubtedly feeling a little more refreshed after their SPCA ‘retreat.’
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Picture: Cape of Good Hope SPCA