Funeral for Baboons

Today I was invited to a wake for two baboons, Fred and Rude Boy. Sounds quite odd, and in some ways possibly comical. Fred was known for jumping into occupied cars to steal food. Naturally most ordinary human beings vacate their car pretty smartly when this occurs, so it proved to be a fairly successful, albeit rather bold tactic. How Fred reached this conclusion was not so smart. Close up wildlife photos make for great pictures to brag about back home. What easier way to get your one in a million picture than to offer food. Tourists and possibly tour operators have offered, and still do offer animals food just to get a photo. Fred's life was sadly cut short because he had become accustomed to the handouts and took things that obvious next step. When not supplied with what he expected to receive, on a few occasions he became aggressive. The State Vet was called in to intervene, and end the lives of these two well known characters. Today I watched about twenty tourists who had purchased chips solely for feeding to gulls and pigeons on Fish Hoek Beach. They stood on the beach with outstretched arms and took photos as the birds swooped down around them. It seems so harmless, until winter arrives. The tourists and their offerings dry up, leaving birds now unused to foraging and their natural diet, now starving in the cold. Those photographers might as well have replaced their cameras with a pellet gun.