Bum's the Word

What Others are Saying

1. 
   July 14th, 2009 at 09:17
   Grant Fortuin GLM Tours says:

   Hi
   Yes to stay near Tokai we also get run in with them and some­times really funny one's.
2. 
   July 14th, 2009 at 11:34
   Christine says:

   Thanks Dave, now we know what to do when con­fron­ted by a baboon!!
3. 
   July 14th, 2009 at 13:38
   Stefani says:

   Love this art­icle Dave. So glad to hear someone speak­ing favour­ably about the baboons for a change. I couldn't agree more. They're an amaz­ing thing to see (and may not be around much longer) and some­thing we should be pro­tect­ing, rather than com­plain­ing about or try­ing to get rid of. Baboon num­bers around the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve have dwindled so much in recent years (I believe there are less than 300 now in the area). I know it's a touchy sub­ject for many, with res­id­ents frus­trated by prop­erty dam­age and con­ser­va­tion­ists doing their utmost to pro­tect them. Perhaps we should all try to remem­ber that we are invad­ing their territory!
4. 
   July 14th, 2009 at 15:05
   Dave Rattle says:

   Grant — you're right — I've had sev­eral other really humour­ous and always gentle exper­i­ences with our furry neighbours!

   Christine — thanks so much for your encour­aging message!

   Stefani — you're quite right! I always think that it should not be a battle: us vs them. If you live or hol­i­day in the Peninsula, baboons are part of the nat­ural order of things — their being here enriches our lives like hear­ing the dawn chorus or wit­ness­ing a guineafowl indaba in the trees as the sun goes down. They are a nat­ural part of everything like the sun and the rain, and if they were removed (sounds like aparthied!) or (worse still) be shot out, liv­ing here would be a con­sid­er­ably poorer exper­i­ence. We should enjoy them, embrace their pres­ence and be glad we have the unique oppor­tun­ity of inter­ac­tion at close quar­ters with one of the only large anim­als left in nature that doesn't auto­mat­ic­ally run a mile when they see a human!
5. 
   July 29th, 2009 at 10:23
   peter says:

   We had the great hon­our of being taken on a walk with baboons a few years ago. I think it was a lady called Jenny. She was absol­outely fant­astic and we never felt threatened at any time. Highly recom­men­ded. Peter Cape town
6. 
   July 29th, 2009 at 11:39
   Dave Rattle says:

   My wife, Annie, and myself have walked with the baboons above Kommetjie on many occa­sions — usu­ally taken by Jernny Trethowen of Baboon Matters (web­site: http://www.baboonmatters.org.za). People who have done it say that walk­ing with the Cape Peninsula baboons is an exper­i­ence second only to see­ing the Ruandan moun­tain gor­il­las!! W
7. 
   July 29th, 2009 at 12:03
   Dave Rattle says:

   Yes, Peter, it was Jenni Trethowen of Baboon Matters (www.baboonmatters.org.za) who has been man­aging the baboons for the last 10 years. I and my wife, Annie, have often walked with Jenni and the baboons above Kommetjie — an exper­i­ence, people say, second only to see­ing the Ruandan moun­tain gor­il­las. Now I see that Cape Nature have awar­ded the baboon man­age­ment con­tract in a flawed pro­cess to Nature Conservation Corporation, an unknown, inex­per­i­enced com­pany, no doubt due to the nor­mal bribe or back­hander we have come to expect from the major­ity of our politi­cians. If you or any­body read­ing this would like to send Jenni an email of sup­port, I know she'd appre­ci­ate it. her email is: jennit@cybersmart.co.za. Thanks for your input, Dave Rattle
8. 
   July 29th, 2009 at 13:11
   South Africa Editor says:

   For any­one who's inter­ested, you can find out more about guided walks with the Baboons by Baboon Matters at: Walk With Baboons.

   This is a truly fant­astic pro­ject in the Cape and is a must-do for eco-travellers.

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