Siphokazi Vuso
Cape Town - The City of Cape Town says beloved Kommetjie baboon Kataza will be translocated to a rehabilitation centre in Limpopo if he reaches Tokai by Monday.
News that Kataza was raiding Cape homes again surfaced this week after he was taken back to Kommetjie in November, following his controversial relocation to Tokai in August.
City appointed service providers for the Baboon Management Programme, NCC Environmental Services had encouraged the public to alert authorities to the whereabouts of Kataza, saying he was continuing to raid homes despite best efforts by rangers who encouraged him to remain within the natural space.
“The City met with the Cape of Good Hope SPCA on Tuesday about Kataza. The discussion concerned (his) raiding behaviour and alternative solutions, seeing that he has failed to integrate with his natal Slangkop troop in the Kommetjie area since his return on November 12, 2020,” the City said in a statement yesterday.
The City said during the past two days Kataza had moved from Capri to Da Gama, and had on occasion tried to cross Ou Kaapse Weg in the direction of Tokai.
“Should he reach Tokai on his own accord by Monday (Kataza) will be initiated by the Cape of Good Hope SPCA for a permit to have him translocated to a rehabilitation centre in the Limpopo Province,” the City said.
Cape of Good Hope SPCA spokesperson Belinda Abraham said they believed the only way forward to resolve the matter in the best interest of the animal was to send him to an approved rehabilitation centre to avoid euthanasia.
Jenni Trethowan, founder of Baboon Matters said: “I hope that the City of Cape Town and the decision makers within the Baboon Technical team understand that the populace do not want baboons to be killed and are demanding that current management protocols and guidelines are reviewed and revised.”
Insolvency practitioner Ryno Engelbrecht who filed an application with the Western Cape High Court to return Kataza to Kommetjie in October said he had issued a letter of demand to make provision for the City to write a baboon management by-law which includes waste management within 120 days.
“The harsh reality is if this baboon is not integrating, there are one or two things that are going to happen; they're either going to kill him in terms of their protocols and they’ll have an excuse, or they’ll send him away to a rehabilitation centre. Kataza was left to his own devices for more than 40 days to go through properties and raid bins, based on a City decision to relocate him,” he said.
The public can contact the Baboon Hotline on 071588 6540 to report any sightings of Kataza.