Karien Cox
14 Std. ·
On 22 October 2019, 2 days after my wedding day at Tamboti Tented Camp in The Kruger National Park, I was the one who discovered a young mother baboon and her newborn in a trap behind one of the ablutions at Tamboti Camp. This has caused quite an uproar on social media as per comments on their official Facebook page as well as articles like this one -
https://citizen.co.za/…/kruger-park-vis ... es-uproar-…/
SANParks released an official statement stating the following, and proceeded to threaten legal action to those who dare to 'call them liars':
“Dear Stakeholders
We have noticed with concern the lies being peddled around the baboon issue and are considering our options.
1. The baboons were relocated and not shot.
2. The section Ranger spoke and explained the situation to the guest.
3. We have compiled a report which included protocols on how we deal with these situations to the NSPCA.
4. We have nothing to hide and have always presented facts as they are.
Now that we have stated the facts, our legal team is being briefed to advise on what steps to take because of lies that are being made by keyboard conservationists whose objective is to distort stories.”
I have sent a detailed report about the incident to the relevant authorities at the end of October and did not want to include it on social media at the time, however, after seeing the recent killings of wildlife on the roads in the park, the obvious lawlessness and poor management I’ve decided to put my report on my Facebook page as well. Fortunately thorough investigations are in progress and I'm hoping for a positive outcome. Enough is enough. I’m including a few photos as well. Sanparks might have things to hide, I certainly do not. My report stated:
RE: TRAPPING OF BABOONS AT TAMBOTI TENTED CAMP KNP ON 22 OCTOBER 2019
Two days after my wedding day at Tamboti Tented Camp, I went for a shower at around 06:30 on 22 October 2019 and heard a distressed call of a baby baboon just outside the ablution building (close to tent 28). I didn’t think much of it at the time and assumed the troop was playing in the area. At around 09:00 I went to the kitchen area to wash dishes and heard the same distressed call coming from the same area. I went to investigate and discovered the trap with the young female baboon and newborn trapped inside. They were visibly stressed and traumatized and upon closer inspection I noticed that the cage did not contain any food or water for the primates. I immediately alerted my husband who came to look at the trap with me and I then contacted Dion, the duty manager at Orpen camp, at 09:33 and asked him about the trapped baboons. He informed me that they are going to be relocated far away from camp, that they have never killed a single baboon and that he will follow up with the section ranger when the cage will be collected.
Soon after I saw a SANParks vehicle drive past our tent and rushed back to the ablution in the hope that it was the section ranger. I found the vehicle parked at the ablution and I approached a neatly dressed SANParks staff member, whose name I unfortunately did not get. I asked him if he was a ranger and he wasn’t. He was very well spoken and I proceeded to ask him if he knows why the baboons were trapped and what the plan was with them. He informed me that the baboons are a big problem in camp and said “ I am not going to lie to you” – he proceeded to explain that the baboons caught in the trap are eliminated and that the same fate awaits these two, as they cannot be relocated and if they are released close to camp they will return and continue to be problematic.
I was unhappy with the conflicting information received from two SANParks staff members and posted the incident with a photo on the SANParks Facebook page at 10:13 whereby I requested an answer from SANParks. The post attracted a lot of public attention, more than I anticipated, and a while later the official SANParks statement was uploaded and no mention was made which fate awaits the baboons i.e. relocation or elimination.
At 11:30 I contacted Dion again to inform him that the baboons are still in the trap, that they are highly stressed and that it is inhumane to keep them in the trap for hours without food and water. He said that he will follow up with Richard, the section ranger. I asked him to send me Richard’s number in order for me to chat to him directly and he said he would, but never did. I also requested that he pass my number onto Richard. My husband and I waited at Tamboti camp until after 12pm for either a phone call or the section ranger to arrive and when neither happened we recorded a video of the trap and location and departed for Letaba as we were booked there for the evening.
Upon arrival at Letaba I received a phone call from Dion at 16:00 who wanted to find out if we were staying at Tamboti that evening as well, as Richard wanted to come and meet me and explain the situation. I informed him that we were at Letaba and at 16:58 I received a call from Richard. Richard was very apologetic that I had to witness the trapped baboons and explained that he was notified about them much later than he should have, and also that he was out in the field fighting a fire and hence was unable to attend to the trap sooner. He continued to explain that that specific troop has been problematic in the camp for a while. I asked him what proof he has that that specific female was a ‘problem animal’ and he then explained that the troop insists on sleeping behind that ablution and due to that they might attract predators which might then place peoples lives at risk. I requested him to be honest with me, as I’ve received conflicting information from the staff on the ground and Dion, and he admitted that the baboons are trapped and then shot in the trap by him after it has been removed from camp. He tried to put my mind at ease by stating that he has been in the industry for many years and that he doesn’t allow anyone else to do the shooting but him. He explained that baboons cannot be relocated and also not released close to camp, as they will just return and wiser to not set foot in the trap again. He also admitted that he has killed a lot of the troop members already and the plan is to trap and kill the entire troop. Richard also admitted to killing a few predators over the years who have managed to enter Tamboti camp. We didn’t go into detail about the young female and newborn in the trap and I assumed that they were shot in the trap as well. It is possible that they were relocated, as stated by SANParks on social media on Tuesday morning the 23rd, due to the backlash received on Facebook and to calm the public down.
Our last night in the park, 25 October 2019, was spent at Berg-en-Dal and upon arrival at our chalet we discovered a animal trap, similar to the one used at Tamboti, planted right in front of our chalet (no. 27) with a ‘Danger’ sign lying on top of it.
I am not a primate expert, nor do I have a degree in the field, I am however a lodge manager who has managed 5* lodges in Botswana’s Okavango Delta; Hwange National Park Zimbabwe; Lake Malawi National Park & Majete Game Reserve in Malawi for many years. I am fully aware of many camp managers on private concessions who opts to take the ‘easy’ way out of dealing with ‘problem’ primates by shooting and killing them. I am also fully aware of wildlife officials being called in at national parks and game reserves all over Africa to shoot and kill the troop alpha male as the mistaken believe is the troop will then not return to raid camps – this has proven over and over to not be the case and if primates have access to food they will always return… at times in smaller unmanageable troops. Being passionate about all wildlife I entered the hospitality industry with the mindset that no animal will ever be killed under my watch. Even though a few of the lodges I took over had problems with primates at the time it was as simple as making all bins baboon proof, empty them on a regular basis and staff were tasked to chase the primates away during meal times. The primates very soon learned that they will not get access to food in my camps and they stopped being a nuisance within a short space of time. We always had a watchful eye when the troops came to visit, but never had any problems, nor did any of my guests, and we loved observing them when they were in the camp area. Surely the above is just common sense.
The issues I have with this particular incident is:
- The baboons were trapped and left traumatised in that cage for hours without any food or water – almost 6 hours that I’m aware of and who knows what time they were actually trapped and collected. That in itself is animal abuse and unacceptable.
- From the explanation received by Richard it seems the baboons are being killed as they might attract predators due to them insisting on sleeping behind that ablution. If that is their only sin surely that is not fair? Why not maintain the camp in order for primates and predators to not be able to enter i.e. cut all over hanging trees/branches outside the fence; close the holes under the fence that has been dug up (we found a big hole - big enough for a primate troop to enter/exit - on one of our walks in the camp) and keep the gate closed at all times (as they do at Nossob camp in the Kgalagadi for example).
- If the primates are being a nuisance to guests and are trying to get access to food, why not invest in baboon proof bins i.e. the ones in lockable cages? I have seen posts on the SANParks Facebook page that dates back years where guests are querying the fact that the bins provided at Tamboti camp are not baboon proof and some even do not have lids. Richard informed me during our phone conversation that that is the plan, but why has that not been done yet after years of complaints and many apparent incidents?
- If the two baboons were relocated and not killed, as per SANParks’ official statement on that Tuesday, we all know what fate awaits them… I will be surprised if they are still alive and probably endured/are enduring immense suffering. Killing them would’ve been the more humane thing to do.
- Richard told me over the phone he had nothing to hide, hence being honest with me, therefore why is SANParks distorting the truth and threatening legal action on social media? The public deserves to know the truth.
- Why was the animal trap placed in front of our chalet at Berg-en-Dal? With a ‘Danger’ sign on it? It could’ve just been a coincidence, but we felt stressed, threatened and intimated to say the least.
My husband met a honorary ranger, his name sounds similar to ‘Khaki’, whilst we were at Berg-en-Dal and this ranger also admitted to have killed many ‘problem’ primates over the years. KNP might not have had another option but to kill primates who have moved into camps in the past, however in my opinion the camps are currently death traps and systems are not being put in place to deter the next troop from moving in. I do feel one of the biggest problems in the park that needs to be addressed ASAP is the bins they provide for guest use. The public and SANParks are blaming the park visitors for feeding the primates, when in fact the primates are indirectly being fed by SANParks themselves due to poor waste management. We have taken photos of the bins at Tamboti, Letaba and Skukuza and it is clear where the biggest problem lies. Making all bins baboon proof and a quick chat to guests when they check-in re: how to treat primates should they encounter them in the camps , as well as keeping food out of sight, would be a great start - printed warnings stuck to room doors are just not good enough and many do not make the time or effort to read it. Some bins at Skukuza are primate proof, yet shockingly the housekeepers are too lazy or incompetent to clip them closed after cleaning rooms and many of those specific bins are damaged and should’ve been replaced by now. We have seen SANParks staff members walking around with catapults and paintball guns in the camps, but why choose that route if food is easily accessible for primates in bins placed all over the camps?
And as stated above already, cut all over hanging trees/branches outside the fences; close the holes under the fences that have been dug up and keep the main gates closed or manned at all times to prevent primates and predators from entering. At Skukuza we have taken photos of a tree close to the restaurant area in the front that is hanging over the electrified fence. Even a human can enter/exit that way… I have to wonder how many primates and predators have made use of it and were killed afterwards.
The other problem that needs looking into is the picnic areas – removing the braais and gas bottles and stopping tables from being laid out with many food items should be considered by park management. In my opinion visitor convenience has taken preference to the wellbeing of the park’s wildlife. That is unacceptable. Surely having stricter eating options at the picnic sites would benefit both humans and wildlife, seeing that most of the picnic areas are not fenced in. Fencing off the picnic areas should be considered also.
Another thing, we stopped over at Satara on our way to Letaba on the 22nd and noticed a young male picking up litter close to the reception area. Thinking that he was a SANParks staff member my husband engaged in conversation with him, only to find out that he is an outside guide. The guide explained that the SANParks staff hardly ever pick up litter around the camps and that the outside guides have taken on that responsibility.
SANParks really needs to step up their management in many areas… just looking at their waste management and maintenance alone.
In general primates are seen as vermin, sadly by many experts in the field too, and it’s time for humans to realise that baboons and monkeys are remarkably bright and deserve to be protected and appreciated.
