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29 April 2024
Yesterday we posted that the Overstrand Municipality addressed the Ward 10 Committee regarding their Baboon Management Plan for Pringle Bay. The following is the plan that was shared with the PBRA.
The Chacma baboon (Papio ursinus ursinus) is an indigenous species that plays an important ecological role as ecosystem engineers in the natural areas of the Overstrand. Chacma baboons play a key role in seed dispersal, thereby contributing to the Overstrand’s rich biodiversity which is a local, national, and international tourism attraction, and part of the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve.
Baboons prefer to use low-lying areas to forage; and prefer high-lying areas such as caves, cliffs, and tall trees as sleep sites. Unfortunately, in the coastal towns of the Overstrand Municipality (OM), a large portion of urban development are concentrated in the low-lying areas nestled between the coastline and the foot of the mountain, which coincides with the historical foraging areas of these baboon troops.
This has resulted in increases in human baboon conflict, whereby baboons, with no threat of predation from historically present indigenous predators, regularly enter the urban areas to access easy, high-energy human derived foods. The number of incidents of baboons accessing the urban area has been exacerbated by the recent increase in urban growth in the OM.
Over the past,5 years, the Overstrand Municipality, CapeNature, and the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning: Biodiversity Unit, have worked together through a legal assignment to manage baboons under the Strategic Baboon Management Plan developed for the OM. The OM, since 2019, has contributed significant resources to address the human-baboon conflict in the urban area.
During this 5-year period, there has been increased interference by activist groups. This includes interfering with the practical implementation of the programme, putting pressure on the OM to stop specific methodologies, which included the use of paintball markers, virtual fence, and bear bangers, specifically in Betty’s Bay and Pringle Bay. This interference has caused a lack of sufficient and adequate management of the troops, which in turn has caused the troops and individuals to change their behaviour, resulting in a drastic increase in home-raids and raids on people, specifically in Pringle Bay.
In November 2020, a Moratorium was put in place on the use of the Virtual Fence and the associated toolbox, and the Baboon Management Service Provider was unable to move the troop out of town regularly and successfully without the full suite of this toolbox, especially in Pringle Bay. With the two adult males in Pringle Bay effectively living in town and constantly attracting the females to town, it was impossible to keep the troop out of town. In fact, the troop effectively became urbanised in town from April 2022 onwards.
Furthermore, many residents do not baboon proof their bins, do not close their windows and doors when the troop is nearby, continuously feed birds with birdseed (a favourite food source of baboons), and some even actively feed the baboons directly. Furthermore, the dump sites in Pringle Bay and Betty’s Bay were not maintained sufficiently, and also contributed to the feeding of baboons in town. These have however since been rectified and will continue to be improved. All these are continuous incentives for baboons to come into town, to access these easy food sources, which plays a role in the continuous habituation of the Pringle Bay troop.
The Pringle Bay troop has been using “Professor Hill” (which is situated directly adjacent to the town of Pringle Bay itself) as their preferred sleep site most evenings, and for many years, even prior to the Ratepayers Association managing them. This means that the baboons have had easy and fast access to the town every day, and this made management of the troop exceedingly difficult, especially without the required methodologies and tools which was taken away due to pressure by activist interference.
During May 2020, the Hangklip Troop started moving north into the home range of the Pringle Bay Troop on several occasions and with increased regularity. This had the effect of pushing the Pringle Bay Troop, which is a much smaller troop, into town itself. The home range for the Hangklip and Silversands troops are very small, and they do not have much room to move in.
Although the Pringle Bay Troop has foraged north of town in the past, this area was burnt during the 2019 fire and there may not have been much natural foraging areas available there, so with the change in season and the approach of winter when there is less natural food available in the mountains, this could have been one of contributing factors for the Pringle Bay troop entering town and subsequently raiding town more actively.
In and around the OM landscape, wildlife, including baboons, can move freely in their natural habitat with access to a range of transformed land under direct human use. In terms of South African law, free-roaming wild animals are regarded as res nullius, an animal which has no owner. When baboons access residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural areas they may be harmed directly by humans or indirectly by structures within the urban landscape. As direct interaction with humans increase, conflict arises and they can become a perceived nuisance, and damage to property may threaten the safety of people and their households, as well as the baboons itself.
Regular human and baboon encounters and access to food resources have resulted in baboons losing their natural fear of humans, and in some cases resorting to pestering people to obtain food directly from them. Easy access to human refuse bins and sites has also increased interaction with humans. In Pringle Bay, human attitudes towards baboons vary on a range of issues including management approaches, management philosophies and acceptable management interventions, many of which are based on incorrect or influenced, unsubstantiated information. These attitudes and opinions vary considerably, from one extreme with frustrated residents wanting the entire troop to be relocated or euthanized, to the other extreme believing the troop must be allowed to move and feed freely in town, gardens, and homes, completely undisturbed and with no interventions. Consequently, there are frequent negative interactions between residents, as well as between humans and baboons. Many injuries and deaths experienced by baboons within the town of Pringle Bay are a result of conflict with humans (e.g., shooting, poisoning, dog attacks, vehicle accidents, etc).
At the start of the programme in October 2019, 18 individuals were counted for Pringle Bay troop, which increased to 19 individuals during the annual count in June of 2021. During the annual count in June of 2022 however, the total count decreased to 14 individuals. This was due to a large number of human-induced baboon deaths, such as being hit by cars, shot, poisoned, or dog attacks, many of which were in turn caused by frustrated residents, due to the playful and curious, natural behaviour of baboons, which often results in property damage, home incursions (where they take food and leave a home in a mess), overturning refuse bins, and general dissatisfaction with the intrusive nature of the Pringle Bay troop. The counts for 2023 varied between 18-22 individuals, depending on satellite males entering and exiting the troop, with the average troop size for 2023 being 18.
The overarching rational of the action plan, is to make town itself “unfavourable” to the troop, and consequently make their natural environments surrounding Pringle Bay more favourable than town itself. We simply plan to continuously “annoy” the troop while they are in town, and to allow them free roam when they are out of town. We will be utilising different tools and methodologies in order to achieve this.
The Pringle Bay troop has natural areas all around Pringle Bay, which all form part of their natural and historical home ranges. These include Rooiels Conservancy to the north, Buffelstal area by the Buffelstal Dam to the East, and Professor Hill, Highlands Hill, and Brodie Link to the south.
The preferred direction we want to move the troop, is north towards the Rooiels Conservancy, as it is easier to manage and block them coming back into town from here. Considering the Rooiels Conservancy is one of the areas the Pringle troop naturally move to, it is in no way in competition with the Rooiels troop itself. Baboon troops form natural buffer zones between adjacent troops. Considering the Pringle Bay troop uses the Rooiels Conservancy regularly, that natural buffer zone is already in place.
Occasionally the troop might decide to move out of the Rooiels Conservancy, and east towards to the Buffelstal Dam area. In the beginning stages of the new action plan, the troop might also decide to move to other areas outside of Pringle Bay, for e.g. south towards Professor Hill and towards Brodie Link, and we may not be able to successfully block them from doing so in the beginning. These areas also form part of their natural range outside of Pringle Bay, and on the days that it is not possible to move them to Rooiels Conservancy successfully, we will allow them to move to the other natural areas surrounding Pringle Bay and adjust our techniques accordingly.
The eco-rangers will undergo official marker training via an accredited service provider, and it will involve strict guidelines as to how and when to use markers, as well as marker safety. They will also undergo refresher courses on baboon behaviour and ecology, so that their behaviour and responses to techniques can be understood and implemented and adjusted successfully.
In addition, the OM Eco-Rangers can be differentiated from the KVET rangers, by their bib colour; OM wears bright neon green-yellow-coloured vests, and KVET wears orange-coloured vests.
All methodologies need to be rotated and randomised, but also triaged and not overused. Baboons are very intelligent and learn very quickly. If one were to use the same method too regularly, and for too long, without interchanging with another method, the troop will get use to that single method, as they learn over time that there is no real risk to said method.
The way around this, is to randomise techniques, and also to not over-use them. Therefore, by randomising and rotating between different methodologies, it allows the troop to not get fully used to just one method and allows for the continuous success of managing baboons.
Baboon management is not to aimlessly chase baboons, there is a lot of technique involved, relating to factors such as baboon behaviour and ecology, but also to the specific behaviour of each individual troop, the individuals within each troop, and their individual behaviours and social hierarchy. There are times to be firm, and to act quickly and move them assertively, but there are also times to be gentle, and move them softly and slowly, or to wait until the opportune moment arises to do so.
This all depends on factors such as the direction a troop is taking, which member of the troop is leading, whether they are feeding or resting, whether the troop must first be regrouped, etc. The area managers, supervisors, and eco-rangers, have the required knowledge to know what to do and when to do it.
From the public’s perspective, if it looks like the team might seemingly be doing nothing, or similarly, seemingly be doing too much, one often only gets a snapshot in that moment in time, which is not reflective of the greater plan for the day, for e.g. where the troop is going or being guided to, where they are coming from, who is leading and who is lagging behind, etc.
Paintball markers have been used with great success by service providers that do baboon management in general. Contrary to the misunderstanding by members of the public, there are strict rules and triaging of usage in place to make this methodology work effectively and does not involve aimless shooting to hurt baboons.
Firstly, the markers are set to a lower speed than that of competition marker settings, so as not to injure the baboons. There are strict rules in place as to when and where a marker may be used, for e.g. not aiming at houses or vehicles, having a clear line of sight, etc.
Regarding the triaging of usage:
These 4 management approaches need to be utilised in conjunction with each other, and rotated, as baboons get used to methodologies quickly, and the rotation allows them to stay adequately weary of the markers, thus allowing them to be moved successfully.
Gel blasters are toy guns that shoot gel balls. These are hydrated water balls, that disintegrate on impact, and only has a mild “sting”. The same rules and methodologies of the paintball marker SOP will be applied to the usage of the gel blasters and will also be rotated in conjunction with the paintball marker usage, for the same reasons as to rotate methodologies so that the troop does not get use to a single method. This is a new methodology we will be trialling and monitoring the success thereof.
Bird Bangers and Primers act as noise deterrence and has been used with great success by service providers and other baboon management companies in Cape Town. The primers will be used as a standalone noise deterrent, which is softer than that of the bird bangers. Bird bangers on the other hand, gets shot up into the air to about 15 meters, and makes a very loud “bang” noise. The usage of bangers must get approved by CapeNature after consulting the wild-fire index for the day. These will only be used outside of town, to move the troop further away from town when necessary, or, to block the troop from coming back into town.
The added advantage of using this methodology, is that baboons have amazing associative memory, and will remember who shot a banger or primer, and that specific person often only has to show the troop the launcher, in order to successfully move the troop. This can thus be used as a visual-only method to move the troop out of town as well.
A skid unit, which is used for control burns and wild fires, sprays water to great distances, and also has a nozzle that can be set to spray water across a great diameter. This will be used in the early mornings and late evenings, to hose down the troop from the roofs of properties they are sleeping on in town. Baboons don’t like getting wet, and in the same way that the public has been using hosepipes to get the troop off their roofs, the skid unit will be used to do the same, but with much greater success.
We will inquire which properties want this method to be used on their properties, and which not, and we will implement accordingly. This is also a new methodology we are testing, which we believe will be successful. We are also expecting that the troop will recognise the bakkie and skip unit after only a few days and may even start moving off properties on their own when the bakkie and skid unit approaches.
The usage of large predator masks, such as lions and leopards, have been used with great success by other service providers. The baboons still have a fear of these predators and get moved quickly when they encounter these types of masks.
The trick is to entirely cover oneself, from head to toe, with some sort of suit, like a ghillie suit, and to not allow the baboons to see the person put on or take off the mask and suit, and also to adjust one’s gait (way of walking), as baboons are smart enough to recognise an individual human by their gate.
In addition to making town unfavourable to the troop by utilising the above methodologies, it is also very important to take away the elements that make town favourable to the troop, i.e. food sources. The importance of the residents to bring their part is imperative to make this plan work. It doesn’t help if we continuously implement the methodologies if there are still easy-to-access food sources in town.
This means baboon proofing bins, keeping windows and doors closed when the troop is near (heeding the early warning system (vuvuzelas) used by the eco rangers), enclosing and baboon proofing vegetable gardens and compost heaps, removing fruits and berries from fruiting trees and bushes, not putting bird seed out (this is a favourite food source of baboons, and they will continuously swing back to finish all the bird seed before moving off), and most importantly of all, NOT FEEDING BABOONS, as this is one of the main reasons contributing to the habituation of the troop.
These limitations to the public, will not be permanent, and will be able to be loosened over the coming months, as the troop starts spending more time out of town and less time in town. It is imperative that the public plays there part as well. Additionally, the public can also assist in moving baboons off their own property if they so wish, by using their own tools and techniques. These include hosepipes or water guns and using toy guns like clap-guns. Shooting at a baboon with any sort of projectile or weapon with live ammunition, is illegal, and harsh penalties will be in place for those that do not follow these laws.
Other techniques include the use of toy snakes, placed around the house and garden, but once again, rotation and randomisation are important to make this work. Continuously move the plastic snakes to different parts in the garden or along the house, rotate them with friends from different properties, and very important, do not allow the baboons to see that the toy snakes are moved or placed by a human. This technique is not the most successful, as they get used to it quickly, but it can still be implemented as a randomisation option.
A very important point to take note of when the public utilises these techniques themselves, is to try and move the troop north towards the Rooiels Conservancy, i.e. to position oneself south of the troop, before implementing the technique, whether it be toy guns, hosepipes, or masks. If the troop is moved in the wrong direction, this will add extra time, often hours, to the successful movement of the troop by the supervisors and eco-rangers.
If the individual is not moving into the right direction, rather wait for it to move into the correct position before moving the troop, if and where possible. This is the same methodology that will be used by the supervisors and eco rangers. The supervisors and eco-rangers have excellent knowledge on how to move the troop, so if the troop is on someone’s property, ask the supervisors how you can assist, and let them guide you as to how and when you can use your techniques, so that the troop is moved in the right direction.
Baboon management is not just aimless chasing of baboons, there is a lot of technique involved, there are times to be assertive, and there are times to be gentle, there are times one blocks or moves them immediately, there are times one waits for the opportune moment to do so. So please, listen to the expertise of the supervisors and eco rangers.
Taking into consideration that the Pringle Bay troop has been unmanaged (without tool usage) for over a year, and they have become even more habituated during this time, and that we will be implementing some new techniques as well, the initial implementation of the action plan may be met with a lot of scattering and chaos within the troop.
We will be continuously adjusting and adapting the action plan accordingly, and it will improve over time. We ask the public to be patient, and assist us in this matter, as the action plan gets streamlined in the coming weeks and months.
Considering that the implementation of these techniques, will be adjusted accordingly over time, to match the changes in behaviour of the troop, the public will also be updated as to these changes, on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. We will also be transparent as to the implementation and continuation of these methodologies.
To be confirmed once all equipment has been finalised and training of rangers completed. The public will be informed of the implementation date before the plan is implemented.
No matter what decision OM makes, OM will never be able to satisfy all the people in the community. OM should strive to find the balance between the wellbeing and safety of the people and the troop and make the best decision for all. Therefore, instead of focussing on the sacrifice of a few, OM should be focussing on those that we could be giving a better life. The good of the many in this case, out ways the good of a few.
In order for the action plan to be implemented successfully, we require everyone in the community to play their part. One cannot manage baboons with only tools and rangers and have a town with continuously open food sources available to the troop. We must all work together, stand together, and work towards a better future for everyone, for the health and safety and best interest of people and baboons alike.
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