The Anonymous Widower

Beware of Baboons

Baboons are the hooligans of Africa, and as this story from Cape Town shows they can do a lot of damage to get what they want.

I was first made aware of the habits of baboons in of all places, Penang in Malaysia.  C and I were waiting for the cable car, when we met a friendly Canadian couple and their three early teenage children.  The couple, who were both teachers, had sold everything and were taking a family trip round the world, staying generally in a couple of dollar a day guesthouses.  They had crossed the Sahara in a truck, travelled overland to Kenya by a variety of means and then from Tanzania, they’d crossed to India in a dhow.  I asked if they’d had any problems and they said no, except for the baboons.  They told of how they could open the most secure of cases and would do anything to steal food. They had had another problem incidentally, when their son had broke his humerus in Nigeria, only for it to be set perfectly, by the local bonesetter.

Ever since that conversation I’ve always been wary of baboons.

I remember an incident at Cape Point, near Cape Town in South Africa.  There is a tea bar there and the baboons were all on the roof, trying to steal food, as they always do. But they had found that if they put their backside over the edge of roof and defecated, they could get a lot of laughs and hopefully someone would drop a burger or a sandwich.  I have seen some revolting behaviour in my time, but this ranks with the worst.

Their behaviour was little better in Gambia on one of my last holidays with C and in Kenya, they were always looking to create some trouble.

So keep clear of baboons.

I’ll always remember that charming Canadian family and wonder if they ever wrote a book about that adventure of a lifetine.

July 26, 2010 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Africa, Animals, Malaysia