X-rays of an adult male baboon from the Smitswinkel troop in the Simon’s Town area revealed up to 15 penetrating pellet gun wounds to his head, torso, arms and legs. The baboon, known among locals as Van Damme, was examined and later euthanised.
The killing of Sylon, of the Waterfall troop, illustrates again how the City of Cape Town, SANParks, Table Mountain National Park and CapeNature have failed baboons and management of the baboon-human interface.
What does it take to bring a community together to address a chronic problem that, for all its efforts, the government cannot fix without help? In some South African communities it is crime, in others it is crumbling infrastructure. Right now in Simon’s Town, on the Cape Peninsula, it is babo.
After being cancelled earlier this year due to Covid-19 regulations,cyclists are now gearing up to take part in the world’s largest individually-timed cycle race.