Monthly Report
For November 2012
Human Wildlife Solutions: Monthly Report: November 2012
A. GENERAL MANAGEMENT
This month’s report covers the four week period from 27 October to 23 November.
B. BABOON MANAGEMENT AND RAID REPORTING
South Eastern Region – Manager Ziggy Rode
1. Smitswinkel Troop
In the Smitswinkel Troop, the two males, SWB3 & SWB4 had regular conflicts and the trend
continued for the first week of November where whichever male lost the fight tended to go on his
own or was followed by SWB5. On 7 November, SWB3 sustained an injury on his right front foot. He
was unable to put any or was only able to put minimal pressure on the foot for about two weeks.
The nature of the injury was unknown but it was suspected to be from a fight or possibly a snake.
On the 9th of November SWB1 raided an occupied house. He entered through an unlocked door and
stole some biscuits but retreated as soon as he saw the occupants. There were no other incidences
with SWB1 for the rest of the month. SWB4 broke away from the main troop on 13 occasions. On
the 7th he had 10 members of the troop with him and on the 17th he had 7 members of the troop
with him. On all 13 occasions the supervisor had
to withdraw from the troop in order to chase
SWB4 back to the troop.
On the 30 October he spent most of the morning
in Murdock Valley and it proved very difficult for
a single individual to move him out of the area
and during that time he managed to raid several
bins and an unoccupied house - stealing some
bread and eating it outside. It took three staff
members to get him out of Murdock Valley.
Fig.1. SWB4 feeding on bread stolen from an unoccupied house.
On 6 November, a cyclist put down her backpack and opened it in front of SWB4, despite being
warned by field rangers not to do so. SWB4 proceeded to grab the backpack but it was quickly
retrieved by the field rangers. On the 9th of November, SWB4 attacked a dog at Miller’s Point - the
dog did not sustain any injuries. The owner had also refused to lock the dogs inside when rangers
warned him that baboons were in the area. On the 10th SWB4 raided a tent that was left open and
continued to go back to the tent throughout the day.
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Human Wildlife Solutions: Monthly Report: November 2012
SWB3 had fewer raiding incidences this month than in October. Between 7 November and 18
November there were virtually no raids by SWB3 and he remained mainly with the troop, possibly
due to his injury. On 19 November, the troop was left at the Smitswinkel Caves at approximately
16:30. At 19:00 a hotline call came through that there was a male baboon raiding a bungalow in
Smitswinkel Bay and that he also jumped at the caretaker of the bungalows. Mark Duffel responded
to the call and chased SWB3 and a few other individuals back towards the troop. On 21 November,
SWB3 plus three juveniles broke into the same bungalow as on the 19 th, by pulling the sliding door
from its rails.
SECTOR
SE
BABOON TROOP:
MONTH:
November
BABOON ID
SWB3
SWB4
SWB5
Smits
YEAR: 2012
Sex 27
M
M
M
M
SWB1
CLASSES OF BEHAVIOUR
28
29
30
1
In urban area
4
Attacking pets
7
Threatening behaviour/attack/stealing food
2
Raid bins
5
Raid unoccupied house or vehicle
8
Breaking & Entering/Damaging property
3
Non malicious damage
6
Raid occupied house or vehicle
31
1
2
1
2,5
3
4
1
5
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
1
1
1
6
4
7
7
1
1
1
18
19
1
7,5
20
21
22
23
5,8
10
1
9
2
1
1
Troop
1
%
TIME SPENT IN TOWN (Minutes)
Troop
0.20
Males
4.00 10
Roost:
AM
4
4
5
Roost:
PM
4
5
5
130
Roost Sites
ID Features of Baboons
3
3
30
3
6
6
3
20 10
3
3
3
1
1
1
10
1
1
1
1
70 95 20
2
2
1
Smits Caves
2
Partridge Point
6
Castle Rock
7
SANParks
2
3
6
4
3
4
3
3
3
Bluegums
HRS
10
3
1
1
1
30
20 30
120
1
1
4
TOTAL
2
2
2
4
4
3
3
1
1
7
Millers Point
0.50
10.08
30
7
7
5
1
1
1
1
1
1
Rocklands Farm
SWB3: collar, SWB4: Collar + double white tag, SWB1: Collar + blue & white tag, SWB5 = Red/Blue tags
Town/Urban area = Millers Point boat launching area, caravan park, Black Marlin, Castle Rock Houses, Smitswinkel Bay houses
General remarks
6/11 - Cyclist put her backpack down in front of the baboons and opened it, despite being warned by rangers. SWB4 grabbed
the backpack and opened it.
Fig.2. Smitswinkel Troop Raid Sheet
2. Waterfall Troop
The current situation at the Waterfall troop is that the main conflict occurs in the morning before the
arrival of the field rangers and again in the afternoon when the field rangers have left. The working
hours have been extended in order to curb this behaviour of the troop and the situation has
improved over the last week of the month. On average the field rangers were able to push the troop
out of the area in approximately 10 minutes. On 31 October, WF2 raided unoccupied flats together
with an adult female and 5 juveniles - this happened prior to the arrival of the field rangers. On the
11th of November, members of the troop gained access to the Happy Valley Home through a door
that was left open.
The waste situation at the Waterfall Barracks remains a major attractant for the baboons to go down
to the flats. Most of the bins are still not baboon proofed, most of the storage facilities do not have
bolts or locks and can be opened easily by the baboons, and the kitchen bin bay is only closed with a
wire. There is continued littering on the premises and this has been addressed several times with the
Warrant Officer in charge. These issues need to be addressed as soon as possible by the Navy.
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Human Wildlife Solutions: Monthly Report: November 2012
HWS: TROOP MONTHLY REPORT
CLASSES OF BEHAVIOUR
SECTOR
SE
BABOON TROOP:
MONTH:
November
BABOON ID
Waterfall
YEAR: 2012
Sex 27
WF2
28
29
30
M
M
F
M
WF1
UnID Female
RH2
1
In urban area
4
Attacking pets
7
Threatening behaviour/attack/stealing food
2
Raid bins
5
Raid unoccupied house or vehicle
8
Breaking & Entering/Damaging property
3
Non malicious damage
6
Raid occupied house or vehicle
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
5
5
Juv
5
TROOP
1
1
10
10
1
1
%
1
0
3
3
2
7
1
1
1
1
6
5
2
1
1
TIME SPENT IN TOWN (Minutes)
Troop
0.6
Males
0.2
Roost:
AM
1
Roost:
PM
1
10
10 10 10
10
20
Roost Sites
ID Features of Baboons
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
1
1
4
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
4
1
8
1
1
1
10
HRS
10 10
1.50
0.58
5
1
1
4
2
2
1
1
Waterfall Cliff
2
Happy Valley Mnt
3
Signal School
4
6
Admiral footpath
7
Not found
8
Happy Valley Home
TOTAL
4
1
4
2
2
7
1
1
Waterfall Barracks
1
1
1
1
5
1
1
1
1
1
1
Mountain Residents side
WF2 - always with WF1, WF2 - yellow tag. RH2 - double yellow tags, adult male
General remarks
Fig.3. Waterfall Troop Raid Sheet
3. Da Gama/Glencairn
From 27 – 31 October, the Da Gama Big Troop (BT) were still sleeping one night in Welcome Glen in
the pines in Glenalpine Road, and the other 4 nights at the Navy Flats in Da Gama Park. From the
morning of 1 November they were pushed out of Da Gama Park and have not returned since. They
slept at the Witsand sleep site from the evening of 1 November – 14 November. From there they
moved to Slangkop reserve and slept on the mountain in Slangkop. They did not enter any
residential area during that period except for 23 November when they entered the Soetwater camp
site. DG1 only entered Rasta Camp once were he possibly raided a bin and found some old
vegetables.
The Da Gama Small Troop (ST) remained in Da Gama and Welcome Glen for the month. They slept at
the pines in Welcome Glen, Glenalpine Road, on three occasions and once in the pines in the Rotary
Camp. Once the BT started sleeping at Witsand sleep site, the ST slept at the Navy Flats. On 9
November, three males from the Slangkop troop arrived in Da Gama during the afternoon. Initially
there was some fighting between the males and females. On 10 November, the entire Slangkop
troop arrived in Da Gama. TK5 was mainly fighting with the females. For the last few weeks there
has been a lot of moving back and forth between the Slangkop troop and ST. One adult male and a
sub-adult (white cable tie) have remained with ST. It seems to be easier to push the ST into the
mountain now that they have an adult male with the troop.
On two occasions attempts were made to push ST and Slangkop to Ocean View. On both occasions ST
was back at the flats the next morning and Slangkop in the mountain in Ocean View. The last
attempt was on 21 November and the next morning several animals were wounded, especially DGF1
who was seen with some lacerations on her back and front leg. Several animals from Slangkop troop
were also missing. DGF1 was hiding inside the roof of the Kroonseil flats with a sub-adult male and
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Human Wildlife Solutions: Monthly Report: November 2012
juvenile and it took about 3 hours for her to exit the flats. At about 17:00, a small group (1 male, 2
females and 12 juveniles) from the Slangkop troop appeared from the Solole fence area - they had
been missing for the entire day.
The adult and sub-adult males from Slangkop appear to have joined ST and, even when separated
from Slangkop troop, they remain with the ST. This situation is very concerning as it means that the
ST now remains a splinter troop, and with a male they will probably not join the BT nor the
Kommetjie troop. With this in mind, future management of the troop needs to be carefully
considered.
Attempts were made to capture DG6 to put a collar on him as this would assist in keeping track of
the Slangkop movements, but he did not approach the trap at all.
HWS: TROOP MONTHLY REPORT
CLASSES OF BEHAVIOUR
SECTOR
SOUTH EAST
BABOON TROOP:
DA GAMA BT
1
In urban area
4
Attacking pets
7
Threatening behaviour/attack/stealing food
2
Raid bins
5
Raid unoccupied house or vehicle
8
Breaking & Entering/Damaging property
MONTH:
3
Non malicious damage
6
Raid occupied house or vehicle
November
BABOON ID
Big Troop
DG1
YEAR: 2012
Sex
Roost:
Roost:
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
2
M
%
0.5
0.3
Big Troop
Males
27
AM
PM
1
1
2
TIME SPENT IN TOWN (Minutes)
90
40
4,7 1,2
1,2 1
Roost Sites
1
1
1
1
1
Flats
1
1
1
11
6
Compass Bakery
11
11
11 Misty Cliff
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
2
Pines - Flats
3
Pines - Da Gama
4
Pines - Welcome Glen
7
Pines - Outspan
8
Jacks Shop
9
Elsie's Peak
12
12
12
12
5
5
15
12
12
12
12
12
12
Sport Fields Stables
10 Rotary Camp
12 Slangkop
DG5; red yellow tags. DG1: Collar. DGF1: Collar + blue white tags
DG7: 2x red cable ties
DG8's leg improving. DG1's lip improved. DG7 is suspected property damager (B+E attempt) on the 22nd.
ID Features of Baboons
General remarks
Fig.4. Da Gama, Big Troop, Raid Sheet
HWS: TROOP MONTHLY REPORT
CLASSES OF BEHAVIOUR
SECTOR
SOUTH EAST
BABOON TROOP:
DA GAMA ST
1
In urban area
4
Attacking pets
7
Threatening behaviour/attack/stealing food
2
Raid bins
5
Raid unoccupied house or vehicle
8
Breaking & Entering/Damaging property
MONTH:
3
Non malicious damage
6
Raid occupied house or vehicle
November
BABOON ID
Small Troop
UnID sub-adult M
DGF1
DGF2
YEAR: 2012
Sex
27
Roost: (Small)
Roost: (Small)
29
30
1
1
1
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1
8
9
7
1
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
1
1
17
18
19
21
AM
PM
5
4
15
TIME SPENT IN TOWN (Minutes)
5
10
75
15
30
45
30
90
1
1
1
1
1
1
3
3
3
4
4
1
15
20
4
10
10
4
4
3
1
Flats
2
Pines - Flats
3
Pines - Da Gama
4
Pines - Welcome Glen
6
Compass Bakery
7
Pines - Outspan
8
Jacks Shop
9
Elsie's Peak
3
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
3
5
7
1
1
1
1
1
11 Misty Cliff
ID Features of Baboons
General remarks
22
23
7
Roost Sites
DGF1 - Female with collar + blue/white tags
DGF2 - Female with crooked hand
3 Males (from Slangkop troop) joined the Small Troop on 9/11 in the afternoon
10/11 Entire Slangkop troop arrived in Da Gama
Fig.5. Da Gama, Small Troop, Raid Sheet
Page 5 of 19
20
M
F
F
%
1.8
0.0
Small Troop
Males
28
2012/12/07 02:06 PM
1
1
5
1
1
1
1
1
1
Sport Fields Stables
10 Rotary Camp
Human Wildlife Solutions: Monthly Report: November 2012
Fig.6. Troop movement: 31 May – 31 July 2012 (blue); 1 Aug – 31 Oct 2012 (green) & Nov 2012
(yellow).
Fig.7. Da Gama Big Troop: November 2011 (red dots) and November 2012 (yellow dots).
It is apparent from Figures 6 & 7 that the advent of paintball markers has had a dramatic affect on
the movements of the dominant male (DG1) of the Da Gama large troop. This male almost never split
away from his troop, so it is fair to say that at least 90% of the dots not only represent the areas
frequented by DG1, but also by his troop. Prior to the advent of paintball markers, the Da Gama LT
spent most of their time in and around Da Gama, Welcome Glen and Glen Cairn. They also made
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Human Wildlife Solutions: Monthly Report: November 2012
forays into Glen Cairn Heights and Fish Hoek. However since HWS began using paintball markers,
the troop has moved west and now spends most of its time foraging on the mountain and out of
town.
Births and Deaths
No births or deaths took place in any of the SE troops during November.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. A later shift over the summer period is essential as there have been several incidents where
raiding took place after the field rangers had left.
2. A night shift that continues until dark is recommended for Da Gama to keep the troop at the
recommended sleep site in the mountain until it is dark.
3. Extra staff is needed for the holiday season at the Miller’s Point Caravan Park and at the curio
stalls at Cape Point entrance (Plateaux Road troop).
4. Law enforcement along the Smitswinkel Bay stretch also needs to be increased heavily over the
festive season.
South Western Region – Manager Nick Shaw
1. Groot Olifantsbos Troop
The GOB troop has been in the Cape of Good Hope Reserve for the month of November. The troop
has moved between the areas of Groot Olifantsbos and the cliff site (C2) on the Bonteberg ridge.
On the 8th and 16th November the troop attempted to enter Scarborough from the Red Hill side of
the Reserve fence. The rangers were able to push the troop back on both occasions. The troop did
not manage to enter Scarborough on any day in November.
2. Misty Cliffs Splinter Troop
The Misty Cliffs troop spent the month of November in the Cape of Good Hope Reserve. They spent
most of the time at the C2 roost site.
On the 27th October the troop moved across to Olifantsbos together with the GOB troop and
returned to the C2 on the 30th October.
On most days the troop will attempt to enter Scarborough from the Bonteberg ridge and the rangers
have successfully managed to prevent the majority of the troop from crossing the urban edge.
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Human Wildlife Solutions: Monthly Report: November 2012
Figure 8: Misty Cliffs Troop Roost Sites for November 2012
November Raids:
Although the rangers have managed to keep the troop in the Reserve for the month of November there were
a few occasions where individual baboons broke away from the troop to enter Scarborough on their own.
HWS: TROOP MONTHLY REPORT
CLASSES OF BEHAVIOUR
SECTOR
BABOON TROOP:
MONTH: November
BABOON ID
GOB5
Misty Cliffs
YEAR: 2012
Sex 27
28
29
30
1
In urban area
4
Attacking pets
7
Threatening behaviour/attack/stealing food
2
Raid bins
5
Raid unoccupied house or vehicle
8
Breaking & Entering/Damaging property
3
Non malicious damage
6
Raid occupied house or vehicle
31
MC1
MCF1
Female 1
Female 2
1
2
3
1
M
M
F
F
F
4
5
6
7
8
2
2
1
9
10
11
12
2
2
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
2
2
2
2
2
23
TOTAL
1
1
5
4
1
3
1
1
Troop
%
TIME SPENT IN TOWN (Minutes)
Troop
0
Males/Females
1.6
Roost:
AM
2
3
Roost:
PM
3
3
18
Roost Sites
ID Features of Baboons
3
3
1
6
2
2
2
2
2
2
Misty Cliffs
90
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
82
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
CoGH Reserve Cliffs
7
2
2
3
HRS
85
2
2
2
2
2
2
Olifantsbos
8
40
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
4
5
9
10
2
2
2
2
0
5h15
2
2
GOB5 has a collar and double red tag.
The Misty Cliffs Splinter troop has been in the CoGH Reserve for the whole month of November.
General remarks
The troop spent two nights at Olifantsbos
Figure 9: Raid Sheet for Misty Cliffs Troop: November 2012
There were five occasions when the alpha male, GOB5, entered Scarborough. On four of these days
the sub adult male MC1 followed him in, and on a couple of days they were accompanied by two to
three females. While in Scarborough these individuals raided bins behind the shop and Camel Rock
restaurant.
No houses were raided during this period.
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Human Wildlife Solutions: Monthly Report: November 2012
Comments and Observations
During the month of November the troop was held in the Reserve apart from the occasional break
away by individual baboons to enter Scarborough which were infrequent and short in duration. As
the month has progressed the rangers have noticed a slight decrease in the intensity with which the
troop as a whole has pushed to get back to the Scarborough/Misty Cliffs area. This is hopefully an
indication that the troop is feeling more at ease in the Reserve and that the future management of
the troop in the Reserve will become easier over time.
On the 27th October the GOB troop moved from the Olifantsbos area to join the Misty Cliffs troop at
the Bonteberg cliffs. The two troops spent the night on the same cliff face and there was some
interaction between the two troops.
The next day when the GOB troop went back to Olifantsbos the Misty Cliffs troop followed them
there and spent a couple of nights in that area before returning to the C2 roost site. The interaction
between the two troops was a positive development as it was uncertain what would happen if the
two troops came together at the C2 roost site.
The main concern was that the Misty Cliffs troop would be frightened back to Scarborough which did
not happen. The interaction between the two troops was relaxed and there were very few
confrontations between the two alpha males.
3. Slangkop Troop
For the end of October and the first 10 days of November the Slangkop troop was in the Compass
Bakery/Capri area utilising the Compass Bakery roost site. On the 9th of November two adult males
and a sub adult moved across to the Da Gama area to join up with the Da Gama small troop.
The following day the whole Slangkop troop moved from the Compass Bakery roost site to Da Gama
where they have been since, apart from two nights when they went back to the Compass Bakery
roost site and two nights that they spent at the Ocean View roost site.
While in Da Gama the two adult males and sub adult male that initially went over to Da Gama have
been with the Da Gama small troop most of the time. Individuals from the two troops have
interacted frequently apart from the alpha male DG6 and a few females who remain a short distance
away and evidently separate from the combined troops.
On the 15th November TK5 was euthanased. This action, approved by WAC, was taken due to the
severity of his raiding behaviour and his aggression towards people as recorded in past reports. His
raiding behaviour and the splintering of the troop made the management of the troop increasingly
difficult. Since his removal on the 15th of November there have been no recorded raids by any
individuals of the Slangkop troop.
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Human Wildlife Solutions: Monthly Report: November 2012
Figure 10: Slangkop Troop Roost Sites November 2012
Figure 11: Slangkop Troop Roost sites in Da Gama November 2012
November Raids:
On the 27th October the troop entered the Compass Bakery site and the sub adult male stole a
shopping bag from a woman leaving the shop. There were three raids by the whole troop into Capri
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Human Wildlife Solutions: Monthly Report: November 2012
and one raid into Imhoff’s Gift. On each of these raids only bin raids were recorded.
On the 11th November the untagged adult male raided an occupied house in Da Gama.
From the 14th until the 23rd November no raids were recorded.
Figure 12: Raid Information Sheet for Slangkop Troop – November 2012
Comments and Observations
The movements of the Slangkop troop this month have been very interesting. With the absence of
the Da Gama main troop in the Da Gama area the adult males in the Slangkop troop showed great
interest in the remaining small troop. Two adult and one sub adult male broke away from the main
Slangkop troop to join the females of the Da Gama small troop.
The main Slangkop troop followed them into the Da Gama area but the alpha male and some of the
females maintained a distance and have not shown much interest in the Da Gama small troop. It
seems very likely that one or possibly two males from the Slangkop troop will join the Da Gama small
troop as there are no males in that troop.
Births and Deaths
There were no births or deaths recorded for the month of November.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The strategy for the next month will be continue to hold the Misty Cliffs troop in the Reserve and
prevent them from entering Scarborough and returning to the Misty Cliffs roost site. The hope is to
further reduce the frequency with which the troop tries to enter Scarborough.
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Human Wildlife Solutions: Monthly Report: November 2012
With summer fast approaching it will be necessary to investigate the possibility of providing the
troop with an artificial water source on the mountain close to the C3 roost site. This will reduce the
urgency for the troop to access water at the municipal treatment plant and in residential areas.
The alien vegetation on the mountain above Capri should be removed to allow for better access to
areas above Capri and to aid in maintaining the buffer zone.
North Region – Manager Stefan Theron
1. Zwaanswyk Troop
The troops’ movements were mainly dominated by roosting behind the Tokai Forest Arboretum tea
garden. On a daily fixed pattern and as the morning progressed, they slowly moved upwards on the
levels of Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) towards the cliffs behind the Zwaanswyk cement
water reservoir. During midday hours the troop is on top of the cliffs and then heads westward along
the mountain and finally arrives at the sleeping site during the late afternoon.
This pattern was only disrupted when adverse weather conditions
occurred, resulting in the troop hunkering down in the security of
the lower levels 1 and 2 plantations. Regarding the troop dynamics
for alpha male, the Zwaanswyk small troop has been shadowed by
TK 27 and TK 24 (an old male), both originally from the Tokai main
troop. TK 24 only entered the urban area once during the course
of November together with TK 9 from the Tokai main troop. They
entered Forest Glade residential complex on the border of the
urban edge briefly, but were swiftly chased back by rangers.
Figure 13: TK 24 – The only adult male in the Zwaanswyk troop, he
is and old male identifiable by his swollen chin.
During early November there were several human/baboon conflicts involving the young male, TK 27
(Orange/Red tag/collared, and renamed from TK 23 - Sep. 2012.). He mainly targeted hikers walking
along the levels of the Tokai forest and plantations. His behaviour showed no fear of humans and he
openly approached passers by or other people observing the troop. He would overtly move towards
and forcefully mug hikers for their backpacks or juice bottles. The main contributing factor for this
behaviour could be the exposure to a large number of cyclists and hikers utilizing the Tokai forest
trails, and the complete habituation towards humans as there are always researchers in their
presence following the troops at close range.
During October 2012, after he followed a previous known serial raider TK 22 into the urban
Zwaanswyk area, he was captured, tagged and collared for spatial locating and visual identification.
During the weekend of the 9th of November, large numbers of people came to enjoy the outdoors as
a result of the hot sunny weather. TK 27 engaged and harassed people on eight occasions over the
two day weekend, ranging from stealing an entire cake from the Arboretum tea garden shop, to
grabbing the arm of a woman in an attempt to steal a packet of chips.
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Human Wildlife Solutions: Monthly Report: November 2012
On the 15th of October he pushed a female hiker over and jumped on her back to remove her
backpack. As TK 27 demonstrated the potential to inflict serious bodily harm to visitors in the area,
he was subsequently captured and euthanized by the authorities after obtaining WAC approval.
HWS: TROOP MONTHLY REPORT
CLASSES OF BEHAVIOUR
SECTOR
1 In urban area
4
Attacking pets
7 Threatening behaviour/attack/stealing food
8 Breaking & Entering/Damaging property
BABOON TROOP:
Zwaanswyk
2 Raid bins
5
Raid unoccupied house or vehicle
MONTH: November
YEAR: 2012
3 Non malicious damage
6
Raid occupied house or vehicle
BABOON ID
Sex 27 28 29 30 31
TK 24
M
TK 27
M
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Troop
0.1
0
Roost:
AM
Roost:
PM
9
10
11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
TOTAL
1
7,7,7,7 7,7,7,7
%
Males
8
1
7
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
9
TIME SPENT IN TOWN (Minutes)
HRS
30
1
1
Roost Sites
ID Features of Baboons
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0.5
0
1
1
1
SANParks Tea Garden
2
Level one
4
Level three
5
Level four
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
3
1
1
1
1
1
1
Level two
TK 27 - Orange/Red tagged and collared. Renamed, previously TK 23.
TK 24 - Slightly swollen chin, old male.
X - Mortality
General remarks
TK 27's attacks was on Table Mountain National Park's land.
Figure 14: Raid sheet – November 2012 for the Zwaanswyk troop.
2. Tokai Main Troop
November was a particularly quiet month for the Tokai main
troop. Over the past three months the troop has been spending
less and less time around the urban area. They have not been
venturing into the Porter estate and stables, the Tokai picnic
site, or the Chrysalis Academy during the whole of November.
This is possibly due to the abundance of suitable foraging higher
up or to the consistent pressure from rangers down below with
paintball markers.
Figure 15: TK 9 – Green/White tagged and collared.
The troop’s movements were dominated by roosting mainly in the plantation behind the SANParks’s
Wood Owl Cottage Guesthouse. They would then follow the identical route as described above for
the Zwaanswyk troop the only difference being that the Tokai main troop would shadow the
Zwaanswyk troop by approximately 30 to 50 meters. Regarding the troop’s dynamics for alpha male,
there seems to be an occasional brawl between TK 9, TK 23 and TK 28 for dominance. TK 9 tends to
get the upper hand most of the time.
Throughout the month there was only one attempt by TK9 to raid in the Forest Glade residential
complex. This was in conjunction with TK 24 from the Zwaanswyk troop. Since October there have
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Human Wildlife Solutions: Monthly Report: November 2012
been no raids by either troop or males into the Nova Constantia and Constantia Hills areas. This can
largely be attributed to the removal of the males TK17 and TK18 in September. TK 28, a non-raiding
and high ranking sedentary male from the Tokai main troop, was collared with a GPS/VHF collar for
research purposes. He was tagged Blue/Green for visual identification.
Figure 16: Raids the last four months for the Tokai/Constantia Hills area according to hotline reports.
HWS: TROOP MONTHLY REPORT
CLASSES OF BEHAVIOUR
SECTOR
North
BABOON TROOP:
MONTH: November
BABOON ID
TK 9
Tokai Main
YEAR: 2012
1
In urban area
4
Attacking pets
7
Threatening behaviour/attack/stealing food
2
Raid bins
5
Raid unoccupied house or vehicle
8
Breaking & Entering/Damaging property
3
Non malicious damage
6
Raid occupied house or vehicle
Sex 27 28 29 30 31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
M
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
1
%
Males
14
1
TIME SPENT IN TOWN (Minutes)
Troop
0.14
0
Roost:
AM
5
5
5
5
5
5
Roost:
PM
5
5
5
5
5
5
HRS
30
Roost Sites
ID Features of Baboons
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
5
5
2
2
2
2
2
2
TOTAL
0.5
0
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
5
5
1
SANParks Tea Garden
2
SANParks Wood Owl Cottage Guesthouse
3
SANParks Research Centre
4
Zwaanswyk Back plantation
5
Levels
6
Crysallis Bottom Plantation
TK 9 - Green/White tags and collared.
n/a
General remarks
Figure 17: Raid sheet – November 2012 for the Tokai main troop.
Constantia Troop
This troop seems to be reproducing at an accelerated rate, with 30 out of the approximate 50
individuals being juveniles or infants. The troop’s main sleeping sites for this month were the dense
alien tree stand behind Klein Constantia and the forest patch on Klein Constantia vineyard. Their
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Human Wildlife Solutions: Monthly Report: November 2012
movements were predominantly across the foothills adjacent to the vineyards, but they did venture
on rare occasions to the top of the Vlakkenberg Plateau.
Figure 18: TK 19 –
Orange/White tagged.
This gave them a direct line of sight view of Hout Bay. Regarding
the troop’s dynamics for the alpha male, there does seem to be an
on-going battle between six of the adult males, making it hard to
ascertain to which male is alpha within this troop. On certain days
there was even splintering of the troop where the larger troop
followed the movements of the smaller splinter troop (similar to
the behaviour of the Tokai troops.) The only difference being that
the troops merged again when
roosting at the sleeping sites.
With regards to raids in the area, there are mainly three males
(TK 11, TK 29 and TK 30) which go raiding at 42 Price Drive on a
regular basis. This property is situated right at the top of Price
Drive and is right on the urban boundary. The property is quite
large, estimated at two hectares, and comprises of a small
private vineyard and fruit orchard, which is apparently
irresistible to these baboons.
Figure 19:
TK 29
Untagged,
identifiable
by injured
left eye.
It might be suggested that the fruits of these trees could be harvested seasonally, as it currently
appears that they are not utilized and left to waste, serving only a decorative purpose on the
property. Unfortunately this property allows the baboons access to the rest of the Price Drive
residences.
Figure 20: Raids the last four months for the Constantia area according to hotline reports.
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Human Wildlife Solutions: Monthly Report: November 2012
Figure 21: Raid sheet – November 2012 for the Constantia troop.
Births and Deaths
There has been only one birth during the course of the month in the Tokai main troop. In this same
troop was there an infant mortality, due to one male fighting with a female. He chased her into a tree
right on to the frail branches. She fell out of the tree carrying the infant underneath her. She
subsequently fell on top of the infant and killed it.
In the Zwaanswyk troop was there two mortalities, a very young infant which died under unexplained
circumstances and TK 27 which was euthanased.
C.
GENERAL COMMENTS ON ALL BABOON TROOPS
Hotline Data
The data provided by analysing our hotline calls are proving invaluable in terms of evaluating our
success with regards to the use of paintball markers, and the effect of removing baboons which have
exhibited unacceptably high levels of raiding and / or aggression towards humans. The most notable
feature of Fig. 22 is that there were only 23 raid related calls this November as opposed to 226 calls
in November 2011. This implies a reduction of raids by about 90%. I do not believe the results are
quite as dramatic as this, but since August the hotline data have shown that the incidence of
reported raids or having baboons in town is consistently down to between a half and a third of what
was recorded for the corresponding period in 2011.
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Human Wildlife Solutions: Monthly Report: November 2012
Comparing this month’s hotline data with those from October also show some interesting trends:
i)
Firstly there is a marked decline in the amount of calls from the areas associated with
the Da Gama troops, namely Da Gama through to Fish Hoek. Last month there were
17 raid related calls, whereas this month they are down to only 4. This is largely due
to the fact that the main Da Gama troop has been sleeping out of town for the whole
month, and we have been managing to restrict the small troop to sleeping mainly at
the Naval Flats or in the surrounding trees and moving them briskly into the park early
the next morning.
ii)
There was also a dramatic decline in calls from the areas associated with the
Zwaanswyk, Tokai and Constantia troops. In November there were only 3 calls
compared to 16 calls last month. It is significant that last month the very bad raiders
TK 21 and TK 22 were removed. This immediately put an end to raids occurring in
Zwaanswyk (see Fig. 18 from October and Fig.22 for November). The 3 calls from
Tokai (Fig. 22) were all related to the very aggressive male TK27, who had recently
taken to attacking persons with backpacks in his search for food. These attacks have
also come to an abrupt end with the removal of this male via the WAC protocol.
Figure 22: Hotline Call Report Per Area – November 2012.
iii)
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Another significant observation from the hotline data, is that there has been a
dramatic decrease in “aggressive raids” reported during November. In the October
monthly report I remarked on the high incidence of aggressive raids (entering
occupied house, breaking and entering property, attack or threaten humans) that had
been reported that month: 30% (n=16) of all hotline calls fitted into these categories.
With the removal of TK 21 and TK22 last month, aggressive raids reported in
November have dropped to 8%, which is only 2 calls. The much publicized attacks by
TK27 on the female hiker and the Swiss researcher, led to his removal via the WAC
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Human Wildlife Solutions: Monthly Report: November 2012
protocol within a few days. This should lead to even fewer calls reporting aggressive
raids in December.
Figure 23: Hotline Call Summary – November 2012.
Figure 24: Percentage Time Troops Spent Out Of Town – November 2012.
The results for November in terms of keeping the baboons out of town are slightly better than those
for October with all the troops being kept out for at least 98% of the time. Four troops were kept
out 100% of the time. The results for troop males was much the same with the worst results being
for the Smitswinkel males which were kept out of town for 96% of the time.
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Human Wildlife Solutions: Monthly Report: November 2012
General
During November I gave talks about our baboon management strategies and results to end October
to the Tokai Residents Association and to the Fish Hoek Residents Association. Councellors Penny
East and Felicity Purchase attended the presentations for their respective areas and thanked me for
giving them. Both presentations were well attended and we had long question periods. Most
residents seemed to approve of the strategies we are employing and were very pleased with our
results.
With effect from 1 December 2012 until at least February 2013 most troops will be managed from
05h30 in the morning until 19h30 at night. We are aiming to establish a special task team to cover
problems occuring beyond these hours over the holiday season. We will also be stationing staff at
Millers point Caravan Park, the curio stalls at the Cape Point reserve entrance, and supplementing
the Slangkop team to keep the troop out of the Soetwater Camping site near Kommetjie.
Philip Richardson
Human Widlife Solutions
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