Baboon sighted in Fourways sneaks past rescuers

A male baboon roaming the suburban streets of Fourways has evaded capture for the past three days, despite the efforts of rescue organisations.

First seen on Monday, ‘Mr Baboon’ has piqued the interest of the Owl Rescue Centre (ORC), Community-Led Animal Welfare (CLAW), and NPO Wild Serve, who have made attempts to dart and sedate him, to no avail.

First rescue attempt

Suspected to come from the Hartbeespoort area, ORC said the baboon had been “running rogue” on the roof of the Broadacres Shopping Centre for days.

Attempts to dart him proved complicated due to windy weather. Instead, rescuers climbed onto the centre’s roof, prompting Mr Baboon to walk into the old Nedbank building currently being renovated.

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“There were three doorways to the upstairs bank, all three were open, without doors. We simply had to block the doorways and the baboon would be trapped inside.

“Around about the same time Dr Rob [Campbell] called back with another plan, he suggested that instead of darting the baboon, we give him an orange that’s got a strong sedative inside. This should make it easier for us to handle him. Sounded like a good plan,” ORC said in a social media post.

ORC, CLAW and Dirk from Wild Serve were all on site to catch the baboon.

“Dirk climbed up onto the roof and helped to block the doors off with some old window frames. We then propped some scaffolding against the windows, so that the baboon was 100% trapped. After that we went into the bank to locate him.”

It was then that Mr Baboon decided to outwit rescuers, running towards the exit, pulling down scaffolding, and making a gap just big enough for his escape.

ORC co-founder and communications manager Danelle Murray told The Citizen traps had been placed to capture him safely, but that he seems “a bit trap shy”.

She said Mr Baboon was followed all the way to Lonehill Koppies on Tuesday evening, where he spent the night.

Not the first time

Fairfields Estate manager Charlene Mathe told Fourways Review the baboon this was not the first time monkeys or baboons had roamed the complex.

“This time though, the baboon is going into gardens and houses.”

Wild Serve general manager Dirk Engelbrecht told Fourways Review that the general public should not attempt to help capture Mr Baboon.

“The best thing is not to do anything, and give us a call as soon as possible. It is best for people to go inside with their children and pets.

“This is so that we don’t distract the baboon as we want him to move through,” he said.

“Don’t scare him off and let him go on his way so that we can keep track of him. At the moment, we can see that he just keeps moving. He doesn’t look for children or dogs, so he’s not a threat.

“We’ve got a method we use every time something like this happens, and it works.”

If you or someone you know spot Mr Baboon, contact the Owl Rescue Centre on 082 719 5463. Provide as much information of the sighting as you can.

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Compiled by Nica Richards.

Parts of this article first appeared on Caxton publication Fourways Review, by Khomotso Makgabutlane. Read the original article here.