Earlier this week the Cape of Good Hope SPCA was called on to assist NCC Environmental Services to aid an entangled baboon. The female Juvenile who belongs to an unmanaged mountain range troop that frequents the Plateau Road area in Simon’s Town had her leg entangled in bailing twine. NCC Environmental Services attempted to cage trap the Juvenile when the opportunity arose, allowing her to be hand injected through the cage. The Cape of Good Hope SPCA arranged for a wildlife veterinarian to oversee the health and welfare of the unmanaged baboon as the bailing twine entanglement posed a significant threat to the Juvenile and could have resulted in her becoming an amputee. The bailing twine had to be removed and blood circulation restored without delay.
The baboon was successfully darted by the wildlife veterinarian and the bailing twine was carefully removed. The wound was assessed, cleaned and treated without serious injury and no further treatment was required. The team on site waited patiently for the baboon to wake up before she was released back into the wild. Once fully awake she leapt out of the cage reunited with her troop.
We are grateful to NCC Environmental Services for notifying us of this baboon and for monitoring her troops’ movements until our team could get there. NCC Environmental Services manages baboon troops in the Cape Peninsula on behalf of the City of Cape Town. We appeal to the members of the public to dispose and discard of things such as strings, twine, ropes and mask strings responsibly. Cut these into short pieces so that no animal becomes entangled. Birds especially use these materials for nesting and often become entangled.
