Kataza the baboon returns to his native troop on Slangkop

Kataza (SK11), the much-loved chacma baboon who has been such a headache to the City of Cape Town over the past 80 days, was finally released back into his home range on Thursday, where he is expected to be welcomed back by his native, Slangkop troop.

His release on Thursday was the result of an out of court settlement between the City and animal activist, Ryno Engelbrecht, last Friday.

Engelbrecht accused the City of animal cruelty and filed an application in the Western Cape High Court, to review the decision to relocate Kataza.

Many animal activists consider relocation of adult males to be a death sentence, as they were either killed by the adult males of the troop they’re expected to integrate into, or by the City for raiding baboons when they do not integrate.

A small group of “baboon angels” monitored and tracked Kataza every day, to keep him safe from the urban hazards of Tokai.

The City’s service provider for baboon management on the Cape Peninsula, Nature Conservation Consultants (NCC), confirmed on Thursday that they had darted and captured Kataza in collaboration with the SPCA, in Tokai at about 08:00.

“Kataza was assessed by a vet and found to be in good health,” confirmed NCC director Linden Rhoda.

He was released in the Blackhill mountain area, between Glencairn and Ocean View, about one kilometre from his native troop.

Rhoda said he and his team were confident that Kataza was aware of their presence and that “they would find each other”.

Rhoda confirmed that all forms of identification had been removed from Kataza, in terms of the settlement agreement. Engelbrecht had also demanded the removal of a GPS collar and ear-tags.

The relocation of the baboon from Slangkop, Kommetjie by the City in August, caused a public outcry and a petition of 30,000 signatories, appealing to the Mayoral Committee Member for Environment, Marian Nieuwoudt, to return him to his home range.

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