Jeffrey the baboon is no buffoon

In the last month or so, residents from as far afield as the Cradle of Humankind, all the way to Johannesburg, have learnt firsthand that Jeffrey the baboon is no buffoon.

In fact, for way more than a month he managed to outsmart some of the smartest baboon catchers in the area.

For those who don’t know, Jeffrey first made an appearance in the suburbs of Krugersdorp where he became an instant social media celebrity. He was photographed strolling down a street, atop someone’s roof, sitting on a patio table – all at different locations on the West Rand.

Then he started making his way to the city. According to media reports, he must have crossed the N1 highway at least twice during his month “on the run”.

The most heart-warming part of Jeffrey’s entertaining visit to the city is that more than 800 people actually took the trouble of sending WhatsApp location pins and calling in sightings to assist in capturing him safely.

Hundreds of people on various social media platforms also posted messages of support and well-wishes to the primate who, it seems, left his familiar home ground in the Cradle of Humankind to go and explore the city.

He was finally captured during the Easter Weekend and is in the process of being relocated where he will, hopefully, be integrated into a new troop.

Disconcerting, though, is that there was reportedly an incident in Newlands on the western front of Johannesburg where a group of residents tried to stone the poor animal. Now, imagine the poor creature lost in the big city, subjected to traffic noise and sirens and light and movement he has never experienced before.

He had to forage for food in completely unknown surroundings with no doubt a few horrible encounters with the kilometres and kilometres of electrified fencing we rely on to protect our meagre belongings from criminals. And then he gets confronted by a lynch mob out to stone him.

Jeffrey, you’ll be much safer far away from Gauteng.

The only buffoons in this story are the ones residing in Newlands. Of that I’m 100% sure.

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