Cape Town - The successful capture of Kataza the baboon alpha male took place on Monday and he is currently being kept at a safe place before being relocated to the Riverside Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in Limpopo.
The Cape of Good Hope SPCA safely darted Kataza in the early afternoon yesterday. He will undergo several health tests before the date of his relocation. The results are currently pending.
The SPCA said: “The translocation is, unfortunately, the only option in Kataza's best welfare interest. Kataza has continued to raid residential homes and failed to integrate with any of the baboon troops in his close vicinity. His life was in danger as he spent most of his time in the urban area. Residents threatened to harm and kill him, with an incident of gunshots fired at him reported to us.”
They said he will gradually be introduced into a new troop where he will be kept in a semi-wild environment.
Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute director Francesca de Gasparis said: “It's a huge loss for the Cape region as it speaks to our inability to adequately care for and keep safe and live in harmony with our wild cousins and nature as a whole. A hard look at baboon management is needed and a complete overhaul (of it).”
She said that intimate knowledge among community conservationists needs to be recognised or each decision on baboon conservation will continue to be factionalised and will not result in a good outcome for baboons.
The SPCA is actively calling upon the authorities to expedite the amendment of the baboon protocols within the City.
Cape Argus