Animal rights activists and conservation groups are up in arms and demanding immediate action following the electrocution of two baboons by transformer boxes behind the Da Gama flats over the weekend.
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This brings the number of baboons killed in the last 18 months at the same spot to four, with the groups now demanding that the city insulate these “inadequately greased” poles to prevent similar incidents happening in the future.
Speaking to IOL, activist Tim Basset said that in September and October 2021, the Da Gama troop lost two male members after they were electrocuted on the power lines above the Navy flats in Da Gama Park.
He added that in November of that year, activists met with officials from the electricity department and were assured that the first six poles would be greased to a height of 4m every three months until a better solution could be attained.
Basset said when he checked the scene following this weekend’s electrocution, he found that only the first three poles had been greased and not the six, as promised.
“I took some videos of poles, where you can see that a baboon had attempted to climb but the grease prevented him/her from progressing further up,” he told IOL. “The fourth pole was completely dry with nail marks embedded into the dried-up grease.”
“The City has once again failed our protected chacma baboons. Surely it’s time that the City and other parties involved take the proper actions and precautions to ensure the survival and well-being of these awesome animals who are an important cog in our ecosystem,” he said.
Lorraine Holloway from Baboons of the South told reporters that the incident was avoidable, adding that seeing the electrocuted baboons was traumatic for rangers. According to Holloway, greasing the poles is not a long-term solution, and only proper insulation of the electric infrastructure would prevent an incident from happening again.
Meanwhile, Spatial Planning and Environment Mayoral Committee member Eddie Andrews said several interventions were taken to prevent this from happening, including insulating transformer contacts, greasing electricity poles, and wiring poles off.
He said that these steps were taken all over the city, not just in areas near where baboons live in the wild, to protect all wildlife, including baboons.
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Picture: Cape{town}Etc Library