Suburbs under siege

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KNYSNA NEWS - The dreams of residents in some of Knysna's eastern suburbs of a quiet lifestyle in close communion with nature have been shattered by the presence of an increasingly stubborn and brazen element in pursuit of co-existence in the area - baboons.

One of three troops that frequent the natural eastern areas of Knysna find sanctuary in the green belt above Rexford and Hunters Home below Pezula Championship Course have made it their home and it was only a matter of time before its members began targeting the homes in the area as sources of food.

And while the voice in defence of the primates echoing across the lagoon insists that it is humans that have occupied the primates' natural habitat, residents who have invested there are at their wits' end.

PHOTO GALLERY: Baboons causing havoc in Knysna

In the past year an elderly man claimed to have been chased into his home by a baboon and a woman sent an anguished plea for help to her local WhatsApp group after baboons invaded her flat and "destroyed everything, Everything, From the contents to the blinds to the gutters."

Residential effects

"People's homes present sources of high-energy food for the baboons, which means they need to eat and consume less to keep themselves going," says Hunters Home resident Mark Sasman, who has worked in nature conservation for decades. "In pursuit of this food source, they have only grown in numbers and activity, and they are becoming more and more aggressive and brazen." Sasman explained that recent tallies of the troop have shown that between 30 and 40 baboons are targeting the areas.

The baboons' raiding of the houses often have significant knock-on effects. One resident impacted by the baboons is Alan Griffin, who has noticed a trend in the primates' raiding habits.

"They go straight for the fridge and bread bins, they know exactly where to go and what to do," he explained, echoing Sasman's belief that the baboons are becoming more audacious and impudent.

"They've become incredibly destructive, a multitude of properties have suffered serious financial damage. Some have had their birds pulled out of their cages, their cats and dogs traumatised."

Fridges are often torn open and their contents strewn about.

He has also noted the increase in activity. "You can see an explosion in the population in the past few years."

Another resident, Kylie Machanik, has spent tens of thousands of rand over the past year to solve the problem.

When she and her family moved to the area, they were made aware of the baboons but not the full extent of the problem. "It took us a while to realise just how bad it was, and that if we left any window open at any time, baboons would come in and raid our house," she said.

Baboons pillaged their house four times in the first six months that they lived in the area. "They damaged our fridge and freezer and window frames, broke pot plants and traumatised our kitten." Machanik says they are constantly on red alert.

"You never know when they'll show up and try to come in. On numerous occasions I've turned back after leaving home just to double-check that I have in fact closed all my windows." She described it as "living in a prison".

A baboon rests in a tree after raiding a home.

Mitigation 'efforts'

Knysna Municipality has come under fierce criticism concerning the issue - not least for losing two petitions with a total of over 1 000 signatures by residents protesting the crisis. In an attempt to manage the problem, the municipality has deployed "baboon monitors", but many residents believe they are largely ineffective.

"Through no fault of their own, these monitors are ill-trained and ill-equipped to deal with the problem," Sasman said. "They simply chase the baboons from one yard to the next and they get chased from pillar to post." Griffin expressed that he pities the baboon monitors at times as they "just can't keep up" with the baboons.

"The baboons are able to jump fences and move quickly via the trees, which of course the baboon monitors cannot."

Sasman, who has described the "so-called interventions to curb baboon terror'' by the municipality as "wretched and oozing of political gamesmanship", has on a number of occasions attempted to elicit stronger action from the local authorities. He has appealed to a number of mayors, municipal managers and ward councillors - to no avail.

NCC report

In 2021, Nature Conservation Commission (NCC) Environmental Services was enlisted by the municipality to carry out a survey and assessment of the extent of the baboon problem in Hunters Home, Rexford and Pezula. The NCC submitted the report to the municipality, but nothing further seems to have come of the report, according to Sasman.

"The report was paid for by the municipality, using taxpayer money, but has never been made public," he explains. In April this year Sasman submitted a request to the municipality to view the NCC report, in accordance with the Promotion of Access to Information Act. However, he is yet to receive this report. At the time of going to print, Knysna-Plett Herald's queries to Knysna Municipality in this regard had not been answered.

Municipal assessment

Another assessment and report commissioned by the municipality was conducted by its environmental manager, Pam Booth, in March to assess "the number of indigenous trees that would need to be removed, pruned or cut to prevent baboons from entering [Hunters Home and Rexford] via 'tree bridges' from Pezula into Hunters Home".

It could not be established if any action had been taken by the municipality in the wake of this report. Another recommendation was the removal of compost heaps at Penhill Nursery as they 'provide a constant source of food for baboons'.

However, according to Penhill, baboons don't frequent their compost heaps. The municipality had not provided the nursery with the report in order to take any form of action, the nursery told KPH this week.

Ward councillor

Ward 9 Councillor Sharon Sabbagh has also been called upon to take action and intervene on behalf of the residents. But after initially showing a keen interest in the issue, her enthusiasm seems to have waned.

"The councillor has been silent on the issue for months now. She has left all channels of communication such as WhatsApp groups regarding baboon sightings and reports within her ward," Sasman explained. This, despite alleged commitments during her election campaign to take on the issue.

According to a Ward 9 committee member, Sabbagh allegedly shrugged off a suggestion to take up the issue with the municipality again in May. She allegedly said she wouldn't present it before Council because it would be laughed out of Council as there are "more important issues in town".

By the time of going to print, Sabbagh had not yet responded to questions from KPH about her allegedly making the above statements at the ward committee meeting, or as to why she had distanced herself from the communication channels.

Petitions

In the past, residents of the areas have made use of petitions to call upon Knysna Municipality to take urgent action regarding the baboon problems. Two petitions have been compiled that, combined, garnered more than 1 000 signatures. After being handed over to the municipality these were allegedly lost. The municipality failed to account for the whereabouts of these physical petitions.

Learning from their past mistakes, residents this time instead opted to compile a digital petition on the online Go Petition platform. This petition has in its own right now garnered 198 signatures by the time of going to print. Residents have also compiled a digital map of reports of baboon sightings and incidents over the first half of the year. This map now makes note of more than 100 items.

Commercial impact

The Hunters Home and Rexford areas are home to numerous businesses as well and a number of guest houses/guest lodges/bed and breakfasts have noted adverse effects from the baboons. One such guest house owner, Henry Gertenbach, said "the situation is only getting worse, and it will affect business in the future, 100%."

Ri-han de Jager-Craven, is an owner of a guest house with historical value. "We've had to replace 100-year-old glass that has been broken, and this is not easy or cheap to find," he explained. "It's horrible, it's like a jail." Baboons have also impacted his guests.

"They get into the rooms and ransack our guests' belongings because guests easily forget that they need to keep windows and doors closed because this isn't their daily life," De Jager-Craven said. "The baboons pull off my gutters for some reason and we have to replace all the food whenever they get into the house. You don't claim these costs from insurance because they're small, but over time these things add up."

Properties

Of huge concern is the effect on property prices. Potential buyers contact local agents and often state off the bat that they don't want property in Rexford, Hunters Home or Pezula because they've heard of the baboon problems.

One agent, who has also lived in the area for a number of years and requested to stay anonymous, said they have noted a stagnation in prices. "Compared to the increase in prices around the rest of town, the prices in our areas are not reflecting the same rate of increase," she said. "Prices don't reflect the true value of the properties. The return on investment is low compared to other areas."

Baboons walk away from a fresh raid of dustbins.