Negative interaction between man and baboon generally revolves around human derived food and can be avoided by baboon-proofing and not making food available deliberately or inadvertently.
This involves residents securing garbage bins and properties and tourists locking car doors and closing car windows, not displaying or carrying food or feeding baboons.
Baboons' natural diet consists of bulbs, leaves, flowers, fruits, insects, scorpions.
Unlike females and youngsters, mature male baboons have long canines. In nature these are used in the protective role males have in the troop against predators such as the leopard. They are also used in fights for dominance with each other in the strictly hierarchical troop structure.
Male baboons are excellent fathers, tolerant and protective.
However since 2009, the Peninsula baboons, already considered a critically endangered population, have come under threat due to a culling protocol that targets them for coming into the urban area and eating human food.
It also attempts to override their legally protected status by defining them as "repeat raiders", giving them the same status as in the rest of the country where they are regarded as vermin and killed with impunity. An additional protocol was introduced in June 2010 targeting individual raiders, confirming that all the Peninsula's baboons are at risk. On July 2, 2010 William was the first baboon killed under its terms.
An alpha male baboon sits with members of his troop.
A young baboon dozes on a male baboon. The male baboons form an important part of the troop, protecting the young and females and are tolerant of the young.
L.Thomas
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