Meet the South African robber baboons

A population of Papio ursinus baboons has been causing constant disruption to some Cape Town residents in South Africa. After their habitat has been progressively reduced by the city's advances, the animals have now invaded urban territory to loot houses and markets.

Although they usually focus on food, it is not uncommon to find a more “eccentric” gang member hanging out with either household utensils and even a toy - like the teddy bear that can be seen in the image above. For citizens, the question remains: how to deal with the invasion of animals of a species protected by law?

The alternatives are relatively few, it is true. To tackle the guerrilla approaches of hungry animals, residents have been wary of paintball guns and pepper spray. However, some say that respectfully treating Papio ursinus decreases the incidence of invasions.

Official Measures

The Cape Town administration has shifted a considerable portion of the government to control kleptomaniac baboons - ranging from monitoring schemes to squads of agents specifically trained to handle the situation. There is even a hotline of its own for problems related to outcasts.

Nevertheless, since the problem arose, countless Papio ursinus have died, both from accidents and premeditated deaths - caused by angry residents in the face of constant onslaught.

The species has been under protection on the Cape Peninsula since 1999. There are currently approximately 500 baboons - distributed in 16 groups - in the region.