Shifting Primate Perceptions
SHRINKING EDENS DRIVE A WEDGE BETWEEN MAN AND HIS FELLOW PRIMATES
THE INDIAN SUN
By Karin Saks
Precious and enduring lessons have come my way during my time spent with our close primate cousins. Whether Louis Leakey’s (the anthropologist who supported the work of Goodall, Fossey and Galdikas) view that women make better primate watchers than men is discriminatory or true, his premise that women are less likely to incite aggression in male primates is particularly valid. An understanding of the vastly different ways in which non-human primates relate to men
and women is necessary for developing a clear conception of primate behaviour.
An orphaned baboon named Gismo, whose mother had been shot, was brought to me in 1997. Before he was old enough to be rehabilitated back into the wild, I cared for him as surrogate mother. Even at that young age, he related to men and women differently, thus teaching my male partner and myself how to parent him in
ways that placed us in different roles.
Eight months later, it was time to release Gismo into a wild troop. For the first time, I was exposed to the complex social life of wild baboons as they accepted me as mother of the newcomer. I watched how male aggression, provoked by the presence of men, changes the behaviour of the troop, showing the observer a particular facet of behaviour that tends to dominate the whole. How did this effect
the conclusions drawn by male primatologists, and which primate studies were necessary to gain a full impression of primate behaviour? I decided to read both, and along with all that the baboons taught, draw my own conclusions.
With enormous generosity of spirit, Gismo’s new baboon friends directed the release process, aware of our reasons for being there. A crash course in baboon language was necessary to the success of
the release; I read the clues each individual offered while forming a relationship with my foster child. What they showed about the inner nature of wild primates changed my life; it was the start of a long
process where I imperceptibly touched a lost part of the self – a part lost through civilisation and our self imposed separation from the rest of Nature.
After nearly a decade along this primate path, I believe that the Vervet (monkeys) and Chacma (baboons) have further aided my understanding of our relationship to the environment, culminating in the theory that we are not one species above but one species
amongst all others, and that conservation when focusing simply on serving people and less on biodiversity is unlikely to achieve
successful long term initiatives. A feminine perspective of the environment is still less apparent than a male one. Developing poorer countries where socio-economic, or religious and cultural factors have influenced the scarcity of African and Asian women in
primate conservation in the past, have been fortunate in having the knowledge of Leakey’s “angels”.
Since democracy in 1994, South Africa has been slowly moving away from a patriarchal society. The battle to eradicate poverty and remove inequity jostles for top position with environmental degradation and the effects of global warming.
Floods and droughts brought about through climate change have found wildlife struggling to adapt to changing ecosystems that are also responsible for rural Africans increasingly moving to towns,
highlighting the fragile relationship between humankind and eco-systems. In areas where humans live side by side with wild animals, and resources are competed for, ongoing conflict between humans and wild animals has escalated. The Vervet monkey and Chacma Baboon are merely two species that continue to be shot, poisoned and captured as human habitats encroach further on their territories.
These primates are listed on Appendix two of C.I.T.E.S., yet their populations are not officially monitored; reports reveal escalating damage to troop structures as well as dwindling numbers. If this trend
continues, our primates face extinction.
Amongst the troops in my area, where male baboons are targeted by humans, there appears to be a severe skew in the adult male/female ratio, a factor responsible for a negative ripple effect throughout all baboon society here as well as their relationship to their human neighbours.
The war between humans and baboons began when the Dutch arrived on the Cape Peninsula in 1652. Prior to this, the
indigenous Khoisan people existed peacefully with their wild neighbours. They understood baboon language, learnt about
medicinal plants from them and never killed them for food. In order to halt the destruction of our primate populations here, we need to revert back to harmonious co-existence with wildlife. Having lived in three different homes that were raided by baboons, I’ve come to understand that co-existence is possible, that tolerance and understanding is integral to constructive change. And the view that we are blessed to still live alongside our wild neighbours is important to understanding our human relationship to the rest of Nature from which we are separated.
Since 1997, Karin Saks has been involved in the rehabilitation of orphaned and injured baboons and monkeys and has worked
towards a harmonious co-existence between these primates and humans. The book, Life With Darwin, released in 2003 by Penguin
Books and written by Dutch author, Fransje van Riel outlines Karin’s work.
SHRINKING EDENS DRIVE A WEDGE BETWEEN MAN AND HIS FELLOW PRIMATES
THE INDIAN SUN
By Karin Saks
Precious and enduring lessons have come my way during my time spent with our close primate cousins. Whether Louis Leakey’s (the anthropologist who supported the work of Goodall, Fossey and Galdikas) view that women make better primate watchers than men is discriminatory or true, his premise that women are less likely to incite aggression in male primates is particularly valid. An understanding of the vastly different ways in which non-human primates relate to men
and women is necessary for developing a clear conception of primate behaviour.
An orphaned baboon named Gismo, whose mother had been shot, was brought to me in 1997. Before he was old enough to be rehabilitated back into the wild, I cared for him as surrogate mother. Even at that young age, he related to men and women differently, thus teaching my male partner and myself how to parent him in
ways that placed us in different roles.
Eight months later, it was time to release Gismo into a wild troop. For the first time, I was exposed to the complex social life of wild baboons as they accepted me as mother of the newcomer. I watched how male aggression, provoked by the presence of men, changes the behaviour of the troop, showing the observer a particular facet of behaviour that tends to dominate the whole. How did this effect
the conclusions drawn by male primatologists, and which primate studies were necessary to gain a full impression of primate behaviour? I decided to read both, and along with all that the baboons taught, draw my own conclusions.
With enormous generosity of spirit, Gismo’s new baboon friends directed the release process, aware of our reasons for being there. A crash course in baboon language was necessary to the success of
the release; I read the clues each individual offered while forming a relationship with my foster child. What they showed about the inner nature of wild primates changed my life; it was the start of a long
process where I imperceptibly touched a lost part of the self – a part lost through civilisation and our self imposed separation from the rest of Nature.
After nearly a decade along this primate path, I believe that the Vervet (monkeys) and Chacma (baboons) have further aided my understanding of our relationship to the environment, culminating in the theory that we are not one species above but one species
amongst all others, and that conservation when focusing simply on serving people and less on biodiversity is unlikely to achieve
successful long term initiatives. A feminine perspective of the environment is still less apparent than a male one. Developing poorer countries where socio-economic, or religious and cultural factors have influenced the scarcity of African and Asian women in
primate conservation in the past, have been fortunate in having the knowledge of Leakey’s “angels”.
Since democracy in 1994, South Africa has been slowly moving away from a patriarchal society. The battle to eradicate poverty and remove inequity jostles for top position with environmental degradation and the effects of global warming.
Floods and droughts brought about through climate change have found wildlife struggling to adapt to changing ecosystems that are also responsible for rural Africans increasingly moving to towns,
highlighting the fragile relationship between humankind and eco-systems. In areas where humans live side by side with wild animals, and resources are competed for, ongoing conflict between humans and wild animals has escalated. The Vervet monkey and Chacma Baboon are merely two species that continue to be shot, poisoned and captured as human habitats encroach further on their territories.
These primates are listed on Appendix two of C.I.T.E.S., yet their populations are not officially monitored; reports reveal escalating damage to troop structures as well as dwindling numbers. If this trend
continues, our primates face extinction.
Amongst the troops in my area, where male baboons are targeted by humans, there appears to be a severe skew in the adult male/female ratio, a factor responsible for a negative ripple effect throughout all baboon society here as well as their relationship to their human neighbours.
The war between humans and baboons began when the Dutch arrived on the Cape Peninsula in 1652. Prior to this, the
indigenous Khoisan people existed peacefully with their wild neighbours. They understood baboon language, learnt about
medicinal plants from them and never killed them for food. In order to halt the destruction of our primate populations here, we need to revert back to harmonious co-existence with wildlife. Having lived in three different homes that were raided by baboons, I’ve come to understand that co-existence is possible, that tolerance and understanding is integral to constructive change. And the view that we are blessed to still live alongside our wild neighbours is important to understanding our human relationship to the rest of Nature from which we are separated.
Since 1997, Karin Saks has been involved in the rehabilitation of orphaned and injured baboons and monkeys and has worked
towards a harmonious co-existence between these primates and humans. The book, Life With Darwin, released in 2003 by Penguin
Books and written by Dutch author, Fransje van Riel outlines Karin’s work.
Press release:
FSC “Eco-label” Allows Killing of Wild Baboons.
According to environmentalists, FSC places commercial interests above the lives of wild baboons in the timber plantations it has certified in South Africa.
Mbombela, 16th June 2011.
By not supporting a moratorium on the on-going trapping and shooting of baboons in FSC-certified timber plantations in South Africa, FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) International seems to place economic interests above ecological values.
In response to a formal complaint lodged by GeaSphere, an environmental pressure group based in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa where baboon killings are taking place the FSC’s supposedly independent and impartial Complaints Panel refused to end the killing of baboons using the cruel ‘trap and shoot’ method. “The Panel’s strange decision will just give the timber industry further justification for the ruthless killings” says Tim Strupat, a German volunteer at GeaSphere.
Since the beginning of 2011 at least 295 baboons have been killed in FSC-certified timber plantations in Mpumalanga, which is the heart of the plantation industry in southern Africa, according to Philip Owen, GeaSphere’s Chairperson, who added “Since the industry began using lethal control methods in the 70’s it has been responsible for the deaths of more than 4000 baboons just in this province.”
Yet the timber and paper products from tree monocultures are certified by the FSC as being from “responsibly and sustainably managed forests”, despite the long-term destructive impacts of timber plantations on the biodiverse grassland ecosystem that they replace. Scientific studies show that rare and endemic plants rely on seed dispersal by baboons for their survival.
Furthermore, these large-scale plantations are exclusively of alien tree species – mainly invasive eucalyptus and pines – that impact negatively on soil, water and biodiversity resources, affecting local communities and the environment. “From the perspective of their ecological damage, monoculture tree plantations should not be certified at all; these ‘green deserts’ are only about making obscene profits for the companies concerned.”, continued Philip Owen.
The FSC and the timber industry try to justify the killings by claiming high financial losses caused by baboons - labelled ‘problem animals’ - stripping bark off plantation trees and causing some to die. However scientific studies argue that lethal control has not been effective; although thousands of baboons have lost their lives to the timber industry, damage to plantations persists.
According to Tim Strupat “It is obvious that lethal baboon control methods are not effective – the solution is to move away from lethal methods by putting a moratorium on killings into place and starting an extensive research program to determine possible non-lethal solutions.”
As an independent eco-label for “responsible” management of plantations and forests, FSC might have been expected to stop the killings and to demand more research and data on baboon-damage from the timber industry. Instead, the FSC acted in the interests of the timber industry. “The Complaints Panel appointed by the Executive Director of FSC International, Andre de Freitas, was not independent and impartial at all.” states Philip Owen.
“We have proof that at least one of the Complaints Panel members has been working for the timber industry on this particular issue.” said Owen. Although GeaSphere asked that the FSC make sure that the Panel composition was in accordance with FSC guidelines, the management of the FSC failed to do this. This has devastating implications for the baboons being shot in South Africa.
There is evidence that the FSC deliberately withheld crucial information in respect of members of the Complaints Panel from GeaSphere as the complainant. Tim Strupat explains: “This directly influenced the outcome of the formal complaint and a FSC-internal investigation should consider it a fraudulent act. The FSC management must be held responsible for many more baboon deaths”
In an open letter from GeaSphere to FSC’s Board of Directors and staff members on the 16th of June 2011, Philip Owen states “Due to the potentially fraudulent process experienced with our formal complaint, we no longer trust the Executive Director with the task of reviewing the mistakes made and with taking the necessary steps to rectify the situation.” In the letter, GeaSphere and a number of international groups reject the findings of the Complaints Panel due to its breach of the FSC guidelines for processing a formal complaint. It also demands an immediate moratorium and the formation of a new – independent and impartial – Complaints Panel to objectively decide upon the future of baboons threatened by plantation companies in South Africa. Philip Owen says: “In particular we appeal to the environmental chamber members of the Board of Directors – including the representative of the World Wildlife Fund – to take the necessary steps.”
Globally, FSC has been exposed to growing criticism, and several environmental organisations have withdrawn from the dubious certification system in recent years. The FSC certification system is deceptive not only from an ecological perspective; it is questionable that large tree monocultures can be certified to deceive consumers into believing that the FSC label can ensure ecological sustainability. Rehana Dada, chairperson of the Timberwatch Coalition warns: “If the FSC wishes to regain its credibility, it should revert to its founding mission – to ensure ecologically and socially sustainable management of real forests.”
In the future, FSC plans to establish ‘guidelines’ for the timber industry to deal with ‘problem animals’, but unless there is a moratorium on baboon killing till such ‘guidelines’ are approved and implemented, FSC will be guilty of allowing the unwarranted destruction of wildlife to continue.
www.geasphere.co.za
www.facebook.com/GeaSphere
FSC “Eco-label” Allows Killing of Wild Baboons.
According to environmentalists, FSC places commercial interests above the lives of wild baboons in the timber plantations it has certified in South Africa.
Mbombela, 16th June 2011.
By not supporting a moratorium on the on-going trapping and shooting of baboons in FSC-certified timber plantations in South Africa, FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) International seems to place economic interests above ecological values.
In response to a formal complaint lodged by GeaSphere, an environmental pressure group based in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa where baboon killings are taking place the FSC’s supposedly independent and impartial Complaints Panel refused to end the killing of baboons using the cruel ‘trap and shoot’ method. “The Panel’s strange decision will just give the timber industry further justification for the ruthless killings” says Tim Strupat, a German volunteer at GeaSphere.
Since the beginning of 2011 at least 295 baboons have been killed in FSC-certified timber plantations in Mpumalanga, which is the heart of the plantation industry in southern Africa, according to Philip Owen, GeaSphere’s Chairperson, who added “Since the industry began using lethal control methods in the 70’s it has been responsible for the deaths of more than 4000 baboons just in this province.”
Yet the timber and paper products from tree monocultures are certified by the FSC as being from “responsibly and sustainably managed forests”, despite the long-term destructive impacts of timber plantations on the biodiverse grassland ecosystem that they replace. Scientific studies show that rare and endemic plants rely on seed dispersal by baboons for their survival.
Furthermore, these large-scale plantations are exclusively of alien tree species – mainly invasive eucalyptus and pines – that impact negatively on soil, water and biodiversity resources, affecting local communities and the environment. “From the perspective of their ecological damage, monoculture tree plantations should not be certified at all; these ‘green deserts’ are only about making obscene profits for the companies concerned.”, continued Philip Owen.
The FSC and the timber industry try to justify the killings by claiming high financial losses caused by baboons - labelled ‘problem animals’ - stripping bark off plantation trees and causing some to die. However scientific studies argue that lethal control has not been effective; although thousands of baboons have lost their lives to the timber industry, damage to plantations persists.
According to Tim Strupat “It is obvious that lethal baboon control methods are not effective – the solution is to move away from lethal methods by putting a moratorium on killings into place and starting an extensive research program to determine possible non-lethal solutions.”
As an independent eco-label for “responsible” management of plantations and forests, FSC might have been expected to stop the killings and to demand more research and data on baboon-damage from the timber industry. Instead, the FSC acted in the interests of the timber industry. “The Complaints Panel appointed by the Executive Director of FSC International, Andre de Freitas, was not independent and impartial at all.” states Philip Owen.
“We have proof that at least one of the Complaints Panel members has been working for the timber industry on this particular issue.” said Owen. Although GeaSphere asked that the FSC make sure that the Panel composition was in accordance with FSC guidelines, the management of the FSC failed to do this. This has devastating implications for the baboons being shot in South Africa.
There is evidence that the FSC deliberately withheld crucial information in respect of members of the Complaints Panel from GeaSphere as the complainant. Tim Strupat explains: “This directly influenced the outcome of the formal complaint and a FSC-internal investigation should consider it a fraudulent act. The FSC management must be held responsible for many more baboon deaths”
In an open letter from GeaSphere to FSC’s Board of Directors and staff members on the 16th of June 2011, Philip Owen states “Due to the potentially fraudulent process experienced with our formal complaint, we no longer trust the Executive Director with the task of reviewing the mistakes made and with taking the necessary steps to rectify the situation.” In the letter, GeaSphere and a number of international groups reject the findings of the Complaints Panel due to its breach of the FSC guidelines for processing a formal complaint. It also demands an immediate moratorium and the formation of a new – independent and impartial – Complaints Panel to objectively decide upon the future of baboons threatened by plantation companies in South Africa. Philip Owen says: “In particular we appeal to the environmental chamber members of the Board of Directors – including the representative of the World Wildlife Fund – to take the necessary steps.”
Globally, FSC has been exposed to growing criticism, and several environmental organisations have withdrawn from the dubious certification system in recent years. The FSC certification system is deceptive not only from an ecological perspective; it is questionable that large tree monocultures can be certified to deceive consumers into believing that the FSC label can ensure ecological sustainability. Rehana Dada, chairperson of the Timberwatch Coalition warns: “If the FSC wishes to regain its credibility, it should revert to its founding mission – to ensure ecologically and socially sustainable management of real forests.”
In the future, FSC plans to establish ‘guidelines’ for the timber industry to deal with ‘problem animals’, but unless there is a moratorium on baboon killing till such ‘guidelines’ are approved and implemented, FSC will be guilty of allowing the unwarranted destruction of wildlife to continue.
www.geasphere.co.za
www.facebook.com/GeaSphere
Chris Mercer & Bev Pervan from the Campaign Against Canned Hunting (CACH) http://www.cannedlion.org – have recently republished their book; “For the Love of Wildlife” in eBook/Kindle format.
It is now available at a discounted price of $2.99 on Amazon. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004WF3J4I
Attached below is the review from Colin Seddon, a wildlife rescue expert in UK, which was published by BBC Wildlife Magazine.
The purpose for republishing the book electronically is to raise funds to support their non-profit, Campaign against Canned Hunting (CACH) - Registered non-profit NGO – PBO930030402.
HOW YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE::
1. Support the Campaign by checking out the book’s website, http://fortheloveofwildlife.com, and buying the book.
2. Spread the word through your social networks to encourage your family and friends to do the same.
Any help that you can give goes straight to the important cause of animal welfare in South Africa.
BBC Wildlife magazine Review of the book; For The Love of Wildlife by Chris Mercer & Bev Pervan.
Campaign Against Canned Hunting (CACH)
Registered non-profit NGO – PBO930030402
“For the Love of Wildlife”
2007 Marchig International Trust Award for service to animal welfare
http://www.cannedlion.org
This book relates the working history of the Harnas Lion Farm in Namibia and the personal history of its founder, Marieta van der Merwe and her family. The book is characterised by an authenticity apparent to anyone who has worked in animal rescue centres – especially those continually struggling for funding. The authors – themselves founders and managers of a wildlife rehab centre in the Kalahari – make no attempt to paint a rosy picture of wildlife rehabilitation, detailing mistakes made, organisational short comings, the value of volunteers and the chaotic nature of sanctuary life.
Dotted throughout is information about animal behaviour, the nature of the Kalahari desert and the appalling lack of rights afforded to wild animals in Southern Africa. This absorbing book is at times moving, depressing, amusing, informative and uplifting.
Working with wildlife is not all fun, it makes clear, but if you want to know how it really is – warts and all – then this is the book for you.
Colin Seddon
Wildlife rescue expert
BBC WILDLIFE MAGAZINE
It is now available at a discounted price of $2.99 on Amazon. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004WF3J4I
Attached below is the review from Colin Seddon, a wildlife rescue expert in UK, which was published by BBC Wildlife Magazine.
The purpose for republishing the book electronically is to raise funds to support their non-profit, Campaign against Canned Hunting (CACH) - Registered non-profit NGO – PBO930030402.
HOW YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE::
1. Support the Campaign by checking out the book’s website, http://fortheloveofwildlife.com, and buying the book.
2. Spread the word through your social networks to encourage your family and friends to do the same.
Any help that you can give goes straight to the important cause of animal welfare in South Africa.
BBC Wildlife magazine Review of the book; For The Love of Wildlife by Chris Mercer & Bev Pervan.
Campaign Against Canned Hunting (CACH)
Registered non-profit NGO – PBO930030402
“For the Love of Wildlife”
2007 Marchig International Trust Award for service to animal welfare
http://www.cannedlion.org
This book relates the working history of the Harnas Lion Farm in Namibia and the personal history of its founder, Marieta van der Merwe and her family. The book is characterised by an authenticity apparent to anyone who has worked in animal rescue centres – especially those continually struggling for funding. The authors – themselves founders and managers of a wildlife rehab centre in the Kalahari – make no attempt to paint a rosy picture of wildlife rehabilitation, detailing mistakes made, organisational short comings, the value of volunteers and the chaotic nature of sanctuary life.
Dotted throughout is information about animal behaviour, the nature of the Kalahari desert and the appalling lack of rights afforded to wild animals in Southern Africa. This absorbing book is at times moving, depressing, amusing, informative and uplifting.
Working with wildlife is not all fun, it makes clear, but if you want to know how it really is – warts and all – then this is the book for you.
Colin Seddon
Wildlife rescue expert
BBC WILDLIFE MAGAZINE
Tuinroete se aapvrou red primateDie Beeld
2010-11-23
MARZAHN BOTHA
Karin Saks woon saam met haar blouape en bobbejane in die bos naby Na ture’s Valley.MARZAHN BOTHA het gaan vasstel hoe sy dit regkry om ape suksesvol in ’n trop te integreer.
Blouape (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) is bekend daarvoor dat hulle stuitig en spelerig kan wees. Of so het ek vasgestel by die Darwin Primate Group van The Crags naby Na ture’s Valley toe Diddy die sleutels van my motor gryp.
Diddy en 28 ander blouape en twee klein bobbejaanboeties (Papio hamadryas) woon in ’n inheemse bos van 17?ha wat deur die “bobbejaanvrou” Karin Saks gehuur word. Sy is die stigter van die aap-reddingsentrum wat na beseerde, mishandelde of wees gelate blouape en bobbejane omsien.
Saks, ’n bosvrou met ’n kop vol vlegsels, is deur die BBC-televisiediens die “bobbejaanvrou” gedoop. Die diens het ’n reeks oor haar rehabilitasie van die bobbejane opgeneem waarin sy en jong bobbejane tussen ’n trop wilde bobbejane in die woud sit om die kleingoed te rehabiliteer.
Saks was in 1998 een van die eerste mense wat ’n wees-bobbejaan, Gizmo, suksesvol by ’n wilde trop bobbejane by Naboomspruit ingelyf het. Die skrywer Fransje van Riel het ’n boek getiteld Life with Darwin oor haar “apelewe” geskryf.
“Ek het nooit beplan om dit te doen nie. Ek het tien dae lank in die hok saam met hulle gesit om meer van bobbejane se gedrag en ‘taal’ te leer. En so het ek later saam met Gizmo en die trop gesit totdat hy aanvaar is.”
Saks het eers aan die voet van die Magaliesberg saam met haar bobbejane gewoon, maar om veiligheidsredes moes sy haar plek sowat drie jaar gelede verlaat.
Nou woon sy in ’n eenvoudige huisie in die bos, sonder elektrisiteit, en is haar ape haar vriende en ver troue linge.
Chaos op die werf
Coco die opstoker, Diddy, Noodles, Mister No Hands (’n mannetjie sonder armpies) en talle ander blouape hardloop nuuskierig en vry op die werf rond.
“Moenie aan hulle raak nie. Jy sal gou agterkom hulle wil nie hê jy moet aan hulle raak nie,” sê Saks.
Ter wille van hul rehabilitering sorg Saks dat die ape – behalwe met haar en die twee vrywilligers van Kanada en Brittanje – so min moontlik kontak met mense het.
Skielik is daar ’n kabaal op die werf. ’n “Gorilla”, eintlik ’n mens in ’n pak, kom by die voordeur uit om bakke kos vir die ape neer te sit.
“Ons probeer sover moontlik die ape kry om kos nie met die mens te verbind nie,” vertel Saks terwyl sy blafferige bobbejaantaal praat.
“Ek is heeltemal gekant teen mense wat ape as troeteldiere wil aanhou. Mense sukkel om met hierdie diere saam te leef en besluit dan hulle sal nie die diere kan baasraak nie.”
Weer bars oproerigheid op die werf uit.
“Dis soms ’n regte sepie hier. As die alfa-mannetjie, wat homself as adellik beskou, nie eerste kos kry nie, sien hy die ander reg.”
Soos die meeste tropdiere het blouape ’n trop-hiërargie. “Die topwyfie beskou my byvoorbeeld as minderwaardig. Maar dit werk so omdat hulle troeteldiere was. Die wilde ape sien ’n mens glad nie vir ’n aap aan nie,” sê sy.
Blouape is baie sosiale diere wie se troppe uit 20 tot 30 lede bestaan. Maar die mens vernietig hierdie sosiale strukture.
Opsien na tropstrukture
Ons stap deur die woud na die kranse wat op die Soutrivier afkyk en hoor ’n trop bobbejane blaf.
Diddy, sy ander maatjies en die twee jong bobbejaanboeties van drie maande oud stap saam.
“Dis die trop wilde bobbejane by wie ek sal sit in die rehabilitasieproses van die jong bobbejane wat jy daar hoor,” sê sy terwyl die twee raserige jong bobbejane rondom ons speel.
“Hier in die bos volg die klein bobbejane my waar ek saam met die wilde trop sit. Daar is gewoonlik interaksie tussen die jong bobbejane en die trop se jong en jongerige bobbejane.
“Hoe lank die proses duur, word bepaal deur die individuele bobbejaan en die trop,” sê sy.
Sy verduidelik dat primate dikwels “geskiet, gevang, vergiftig, vir Afrika-praktyke gebruik, geëlektrifiseer of doodgery word, eerder as dat ’n harmonieuse wyse gesoek word waarop ons en hulle saam kan leef”. Die aapvrou meen dat nie net die aantal ape minder word nie, maar dat ook die tropstrukture verander.
“As die mannetjies geskiet word, wat dikwels die sterkste mannetjie is, is die verhoudinge ’n warboel.”
Tans bestaan twee teenstrydige wette wat die Kaapse bobbejaan en die blouaap beskerm, dog die jag op die diere regverdig.
“Die bobbejaan en die blouaap is veronderstel om in die Wes-Kaap beskerm te word. Maar die jagproklamasie sê jy mag nie meer as vyf blouape en bobbejane per dag skiet nie.
“Dit maak net nie sin nie en is frustrerend,” sê Saks.
Die vorige dag moes sy juis ’n weesapie wie se ma geskiet is, gaan oplaai. ’n Ander surrogaat-aap ontferm haar oor die weesapie, maar Saks voer dit elke paar uur met ’n bottel.
“Hierdie apies sal later moontlik suksesvol in ’n trop opgeneem word. Dit beteken dat hulle vry en onafhanklik is en nie op my staatmaak om hulle te voer nie.”
Dit is hoe sy haar ape wil sien – vry en uitbundig.
· Marzahn Botha is ’n joernalis van Buite .
Só trek die werkers aan voordat hulle die bobbejane en ape voer. Hulle moet nie kos met mense verbind nie.
Meer inligting
· Gaan soek Karin Saks op Facebook en jy sal ’n voorskou van Bobbejaanvrou daar sien.
· Anders kan jy op http:// en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Baboon_Woman inligting kry.
· Besoek haar kletsbrief by http://www. darwinprimategroup. blogspot. com/
· Sy neem vrywilligers in.
· Besoek www.karinsaks.org.za of, stuur e-pos aan haar by karinsaks @ gmail. com.
Dead Female Baboon - a symbol of the numerous ways in which human intervention impacts of baboon populations.
A female mother baboon was killed by a speeding Gauteng vehicle on Redhill Road in the Cape Peninsula on the 8th of September.
The psychological and emotional impact on the dead baboon's family and friends is clearly expressed in these photos.
“The female had been previously clubbed by a Simon's Town resident (not sure how long ago) and lost an eye in the process, we assume the vehicle that hit her, came at her on her blind side. Plus she had electric cable burns on her hands from a recent electrocution. Life is so hard for our urban baboons.” Rose Ashley, witness. Bongo Cheekyboy, the alpha and only adult male in the troop was visibly distressed by the death of one his females and only started to move away after the body was removed, Chris Trethowan from Baboon Matters - who was also at the scene - said.
Damage caused to troop structures is rarely acknowledged amongst conservationists. Primates are highly social animals - the group works as a cohesive whole and social health is integral to the troop and all related systems. Healthy troops are necessary for a healthy biodiversity.
Vervet monkey and Chacma baboon troops are made up of tight-knit groups of friends/family within the hierarchy. Humans who eliminate an individual need to consider the long term social and psychological consequences inflicted on the whole troop.
A female mother baboon was killed by a speeding Gauteng vehicle on Redhill Road in the Cape Peninsula on the 8th of September.
The psychological and emotional impact on the dead baboon's family and friends is clearly expressed in these photos.
“The female had been previously clubbed by a Simon's Town resident (not sure how long ago) and lost an eye in the process, we assume the vehicle that hit her, came at her on her blind side. Plus she had electric cable burns on her hands from a recent electrocution. Life is so hard for our urban baboons.” Rose Ashley, witness. Bongo Cheekyboy, the alpha and only adult male in the troop was visibly distressed by the death of one his females and only started to move away after the body was removed, Chris Trethowan from Baboon Matters - who was also at the scene - said.
Damage caused to troop structures is rarely acknowledged amongst conservationists. Primates are highly social animals - the group works as a cohesive whole and social health is integral to the troop and all related systems. Healthy troops are necessary for a healthy biodiversity.
Vervet monkey and Chacma baboon troops are made up of tight-knit groups of friends/family within the hierarchy. Humans who eliminate an individual need to consider the long term social and psychological consequences inflicted on the whole troop.
ALL PHOTOGRAPHS BY BRIAN ASHLEY:
A female ally grooms the dead mother while her juvenile offspring drapes himself over her face.
Leaving the tragic scene, the female ally and orphan express mutual grief.
Sunday Times - Times-Live.
Wild baboons kept in 'horrifying' labs
Aug 8, 2010 12:00 AM | By ANTON FERREIRA
Medical researchers in South Africa are benefiting from a cheap supply of live subjects on which to experiment - baboons trapped in the wild after wreaking havoc on farms.
At least two universities - the University of Cape Town and North West University - use wild-caught baboons for research, a practice now banned in Europe and Australia due to animal welfare concerns.
Primate experts say that to confine a "born free" primate in a cage is unnecessarily cruel, and that it is preferable to use animals bred in captivity.
However, it is far more expensive to breed primates in captivity than to catch them in the wild.
Now UCT staff and researchers are locked in fierce debate over whether to continue experimenting on wild-caught animals, and will hold a meeting on the issue later this month.
"It's a political hot potato at the moment," said one UCT scientist who did not want to be named. "I don't want to stop animal experimentation; I want to make sure it happens under the best international practice, and that includes not using wild-caught animals."
A US primatologist now based in Cape Town, Tim Newman, said there were valid arguments for using primates in medical research, depending what tests were done, how the animals were treated and what happened to them afterwards.
"Imagine a wild primate - they have a stress response very much like our own. They don't understand what's happening to them, they're almost in a perpetual state of fear ...
"If one must use primates in research, then I would think there's a big difference, morally and ethically, between using a captive-bred animal rather than a wild-caught animal."
Newman said research animals in South Africa were generally kept in small cages with only artificial lighting, "conditions that would horrify most of us".
"These are social animals and, particularly if they're wild-caught, it's got to be a horrible experience for them."
Peter Lloyd, a senior scientist at Cape Nature, said farmers who wanted to sell baboons to researchers had to prove the animals were a threat to their crops, and that they had implemented measures like electric fencing to try to solve the problem.
"We can't forbid it, but we can manage it by making it as difficult as possible," he said.
Lloyd said Western Cape authorities had received only one application in the last five years from a farmer wanting to trap baboons and sell them.
The price for a wild-caught baboon is anywhere between R7500 and R15000, according to Este Kotze, an inspector with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals who serves on a national ethics committee overseeing the use of animals in research.
"We oppose the use of non-human primates, but we have to accept that some research continues," Kotze said.
"We make recommendations on alternatives."
Louis Jacobs, a spokesman for North West University, said the university had last used baboons for medical research four years ago.
"Sixteen baboons, categorised as problem animals, were caught with the assistance of and permits from nature conservation, at a holiday resort in Rustenburg," he said. "Upon completion of the research, the animals were humanely put down."
Jacobs said all research on animals at the university had to be approved by the ethics committee on which the SPCA served.
Most medical research on baboons involves testing medicines, including potential Aids treatments, and surgical procedures. Lloyd said "huge" numbers of baboons were taken from the wild in the 1970s for use in heart transplant research.
"It's still not a perfect system; but we're in the middle and we have to address issues from both sides."
Toni Brokhoven, a spokesman for the animal rights group Beauty Without Cruelty, condemned all research on live animals.
"Whether they're wild-caught or captive-bred, the point is that they're still wild animals," she said. "Two or three generations down the line does not make them happy to be worked on, and does not make them any less uncomfortable being in cages."
BABOON KILLED BY AUTHORITIES.
Having spent many years observing baboons in every possible environment in SA, I can only be saddened at the power that propaganda has on the public's attitudes towards baboons. It is entirely removed from what I understand to be the truth and reality of baboon life. Karin Saks.
"Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude...See more of a community toward some cause or position. As opposed to impartially providing information, propaganda in its most basic sense, presents information primarily to influence an audience. Propaganda often presents facts selectively (thus possibly lying by omission) to encourage a particular synthesis, or uses loaded messages to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented. The desired result is a change of the attitude toward the subject in the target audience to further a political agenda. Propaganda can be used as a form of political warfare."
William the baboon - Trapped and Killed
John Yeld
CAPE ARGUS.
7 July 2010
William, the lovable rogue or the scourge of Scarborough - depending on your point of view - is dead, courtesy of a new protocol for managing raiding baboons on the Peninsula.
The big male baboon, estimated to have been about 14 years old and known officially as GOB03, was put down by a City of Cape Town vet after being caught in a trap on Friday.
His death has greatly upset some baboon conservationists, who say this decision was taken without adequate input from civil society, and that not enough was being done to educate and persuade residents in areas subject to baboon raids to take adequate measures to protect their properties.
But the city has justified the decision, saying it was a necessary step "taken after thorough investigation and careful consideration in the interest of human health and safety, and the improved management and conservation of baboons on the Peninsula".
The chairman of the Scarborough Residents Association, Richard Gebhardt, has confirmed that William was a severe problem in the village.
"I'm really sorry to hear that (the baboon was euthanased) and I had always hoped that it would never happen, but William was a big problem," Gebhardt said on Tuesday.
"Much as I hate saying so, William was the main trainer for all the young juvenile delinquents running around. They would rip out windows, take doors off hinges and come in through the cat flaps... William raided at will with total impunity and without fear, and I say that from personal experience in my house."
Jenni Trethowan, of the conservation group Baboon Matters, said she had struggled to get confirmation of the incident from the authorities after hearing about it informally on Monday. "Everyone was being very shtum about it. CapeNature told me they knew he had been captured, but I was fobbed off as to the how and why," she said.
She believed William was about 14 years old and had first encountered him as a juvenile in 2001 when he had been part of the Da Gama Park troop headed by alpha male George.
"He was just a young boy then and I've been watching him grow up. What has he been condemned for? What was his big crime?"
Trethowan said she wanted to know what decision-making process had led to the decision to put down William.
"It certainly didn't involve any interested and affected parties - I phoned everyone I knew, and nobody knew anything."
She also asked what programmes were in place to ensure that residents of areas where baboons raided were taking appropriate preventative measures.
"They're just acting against the baboons and this is all very one-sided," she said. City spokesperson Kylie Hatton said in response that the city, CapeNature and Table Mountain National Park were jointly responsible for managing "this difficult, historic situation". GOB03 was found to be raiding on a regular basis, entering houses when he knew there were people inside and sometimes actively breaking windows or doors. "Perhaps most worryingly, such raiding behaviour was often done in the company of juvenile baboons and thus future generations of baboons might have been learning that part of foraging involved breaking, entering and chasing people in their homes." After a review of all the information, permission had been given to catch and put down the animal with a lethal injection, she confirmed.
"Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude...
William the baboon - Trapped and Killed
John Yeld
CAPE ARGUS.
7 July 2010
William, the lovable rogue or the scourge of Scarborough - depending on your point of view - is dead, courtesy of a new protocol for managing raiding baboons on the Peninsula.
The big male baboon, estimated to have been about 14 years old and known officially as GOB03, was put down by a City of Cape Town vet after being caught in a trap on Friday.
His death has greatly upset some baboon conservationists, who say this decision was taken without adequate input from civil society, and that not enough was being done to educate and persuade residents in areas subject to baboon raids to take adequate measures to protect their properties.
But the city has justified the decision, saying it was a necessary step "taken after thorough investigation and careful consideration in the interest of human health and safety, and the improved management and conservation of baboons on the Peninsula".
The chairman of the Scarborough Residents Association, Richard Gebhardt, has confirmed that William was a severe problem in the village.
"I'm really sorry to hear that (the baboon was euthanased) and I had always hoped that it would never happen, but William was a big problem," Gebhardt said on Tuesday.
"Much as I hate saying so, William was the main trainer for all the young juvenile delinquents running around. They would rip out windows, take doors off hinges and come in through the cat flaps... William raided at will with total impunity and without fear, and I say that from personal experience in my house."
Jenni Trethowan, of the conservation group Baboon Matters, said she had struggled to get confirmation of the incident from the authorities after hearing about it informally on Monday. "Everyone was being very shtum about it. CapeNature told me they knew he had been captured, but I was fobbed off as to the how and why," she said.
She believed William was about 14 years old and had first encountered him as a juvenile in 2001 when he had been part of the Da Gama Park troop headed by alpha male George.
"He was just a young boy then and I've been watching him grow up. What has he been condemned for? What was his big crime?"
Trethowan said she wanted to know what decision-making process had led to the decision to put down William.
"It certainly didn't involve any interested and affected parties - I phoned everyone I knew, and nobody knew anything."
She also asked what programmes were in place to ensure that residents of areas where baboons raided were taking appropriate preventative measures.
"They're just acting against the baboons and this is all very one-sided," she said. City spokesperson Kylie Hatton said in response that the city, CapeNature and Table Mountain National Park were jointly responsible for managing "this difficult, historic situation". GOB03 was found to be raiding on a regular basis, entering houses when he knew there were people inside and sometimes actively breaking windows or doors. "Perhaps most worryingly, such raiding behaviour was often done in the company of juvenile baboons and thus future generations of baboons might have been learning that part of foraging involved breaking, entering and chasing people in their homes." After a review of all the information, permission had been given to catch and put down the animal with a lethal injection, she confirmed.
