Town overrun by horde of baboons who steal food and squat in buildings

By Ottilie Von Henning via SWNS

A troop of baboons has overrun a town where the animals are stealing people's food and squatting in empty buildings.

Simon's Town, in the Western Cape province of South Africa, houses a population of just over 6,500 - not accounting for the unwelcome primate inhabitants.

It is estimated that there are approximately 150 baboons living in Simon's Town.

The easy access to food from either rummaging through local bins or stealing food from shops and even kitchens makes in attraction location for the primates.

The baboons op are also often found lounging out on the streets and squatting in empty buildings.

However, the animal's increasingly disruptive nature has lead to a polarising debate in the community about how to handle them.

An official town-wide forum - The Baboon Dialogue - was created to manage the baboons two years ago.

Peter Willis, the spokesman for The Baboon Dialogue, said: "When they [the baboons] discovered they can get human food either from our waste bins or by getting into our kitchens, they get a big hit of carbohydrates and proteins.

"This gives them a very lazy time of it because once they've eaten that, they don't need to go foraging on the mountain."

Baboons in the neighborhood are no new feat, with records from the Simon's Town Museum dating regular sightings back to 1968.

However, developments in their behavior over the past few years have exacerbated the situation.

Peter said: "The baboons now can find their way into town with very little effort and resistance and they have lost their fear of humans.

"Going back 20 or 30 years, they were quite cautious of humans because they knew that occasionally humans took a shot and killed one of them.

"They have also begun roosting in old derelict buildings belonging to the South African Navy."

As much as their invasion is a nuisance for the human residents, it's not particularly ideal for the baboon troop either.

In a town with a busy high street, accidents are bound to happen and baboons have been known to lose a limb or their lives.

Peter said: "We had the experience of witnessing a baby baboon crossing the road to catch up with the troop and getting hit by a car and killed.

"We noticed its mother then did what baboon mothers do and carried its corpse around for days if not weeks."

Video shows the immediate aftermath of this tragic accident and the mother baboon sat atop a brick wall cradling her baby's corpse.

Another baboon sat next to her, heavily pregnant, is then seen giving birth almost immediately after.

Peter, who witnessed the events of the video, said: "Some people might say it's like having National Geographic on your doorstep!

"But for those of us that live here, it's a lot more tragic than that.

"They should not be having to die and go through that grief and give birth in a busy high street.

"That's not natural for baboons and its not good for them long-term."