Wandering baboon to be released back into the wild
The male baboon, that has been wandering in residential areas, has finally been caught after months of evading his rescuers.
Cora Bailey from Community Led Animal Welfare (CLAW), confirmed that the male baboon that had been roaming areas all across the West Rand has finally been caught on Friday, 17 April.
It was reported earlier that the baboon enjoyed the quieter times with less human activity during the national lockdown, and Cora said they even removed the trap, as they felt the baboon was safe. ”We deactivated the trap during lockdown as we did not want to drive around too much,” she said.
She added that they were receiving a lot of calls from residents on Thursday, 16 April, saying that the baboon has been spotted again. He was trapped on one of the properties for a while, but he was gone when they arrived. ”We decided to set the trap in the same area as before, and were pleasantly surprised when we caught him the next day,” she explained.
She assured residents that the baboon will be released back into the wild where he belongs, and said, “He is not a young chap, but seems to be enjoying his time at the rehab facility where he will spend a short amount of time to get used the new environment before being released back into the wild, where I am sure he will enjoy it very much. I am happy to say that he will be fine once released.”
