The residents of Rooiels, a coastal village just 5km away from Pringle Bay on the eastern shore of False Bay, choose to live alongside the baboons of Rooiels as opposed to excluding the primates from their area.
Baboons are naturally non-aggressive towards humans and only focused on our food.
This unique coexistence between humans and baboons is made possible by the community diligently ensuring to make use of baboon-proof bins to store their food waste in to avoid the baboons having access to it, as well as having their windows fixed with baboon-proof shields.
So that when the baboons come down into the village, they spend their time peacefully foraging in the fynbos vegetation instead of rummaging through the resident’s bins.
Have a look at the Rooiels Baboons playing and foraging in the village photographed on 17 September:
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Picture: Benjamin William Pearce (Raven)