A male baboon from Smitswinkel Bay has been put down after its behaviour reportedly put other baboons from the area in danger.
According to IOL, the City of Cape Town said the baboon was put down on Thursday morning after it had uncontrollably raided occupied and unoccupied houses in the Murdoch Valley area and beyond.
“Between October 1 in 2020 and February 28, the male baboon entered the urban area on more than 40 occasions. In February 2021 alone the baboon entered houses on more than 10 occasions while residents were inside,” the report said.
The problem was that a splinter group of females and juveniles from the Smitswinkel Bay troop had started following the baboon, thus, putting the whole splinter group in danger.
Extensive discussions
In 2011, a baboon named Fred that lived near Cape Point was also killed after authorities deemed him aggressive.
A BBC report said at the time that Fred was known for raiding cars and attacking tourists in Cape Town.
“The decision to have him (Fred) euthanised was not taken lightly and not without extensive discussions between all role-players involved.
“This baboon’s aggression levels had recently escalated to the point where the safety of tourists, motorists and other travellers along the road past Smitswinkel Bay was being threatened,” Cape Town’s Baboon Operational Group said in a statement at the time.
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