FOR RESIDENTS
Prepared homes create safer outcomes.
Practical steps to make properties less rewarding, manage visits confidently and protect people, pets and wildlife.
🛡️ Important to note
- Baboons are wild animals and can be dangerous.
- It is illegal to feed baboons.
- It is illegal to shoot baboons without a permit.
- Children must be told to release anything they may be holding immediately if approached by a baboon.
- Never try to retrieve food from a baboon.
- Habituated baboons who exist in suburbia are not tame pets; they can be aggressive.
- Baboons are a protected species in the Western Cape (CapeNature Conservation Laws Amendment Act, 2000, Ordinance 19 of 1974). It is illegal to feed, kill or injure baboons, or to keep a baboon in captivity without a permit. Offences are punishable by law and carry stiff penalties.
KEEP INFORMED
Know the movement. Share the protocol.
- Enter the Baboon Hotline 069 151 5963 on your phone and on the phone of your housekeeper, family members who visit regularly and visitors.
- Join your local WhatsApp Neighbourhood Watch group in your immediate area to keep aware of baboon movements in your area.
- If you are renting your house to tenants ensure they are advised of how to manage the situation, particularly if they have children or pets.
PREVENTION
Make your home less appealing.
The only way to modify raiding behaviour is to remove easy food rewards. Effective municipal monitoring and preventative action by residents helps baboons learn that raiding is not worth it.
WHEN A BABOON VISITS
Stay calm. Give an exit.
A baboon in a home can be startling, but it is usually looking for food and does not wish to harm you. Never corner an animal. A calm, informed response keeps people and animals safer.