19/09/2026
Yesterday, in the early afternoon, I watched the Waterfall baboons foraging in the firebreak across from us in Admiral’s Kloof. They had come up my road earlier, and when I saw where they were heading, I fetched my camera and went to the top of my property.
From a distance, I watched both Bobby’s and Sammy’s groups peacefully feeding on what they absolutely love: beautiful, fresh, green, sweet grass. They were basking in the warm sun, and their fur looked almost iridescent, like the pampas grass growing here. The rangers were not disturbing them. For a change, they were simply being left to forage.
It was a very different picture from the one continually being presented to the public.
For a long time, the Cape Baboon Partnership and others have pushed the narrative that these baboons are unhealthy, permanently living in bins and of little ecological value. Any possible way of devaluing their lives seems to be repeated until the public becomes comfortable with whatever is eventually done to them.
But observation tells another story.
Waterfall females have experienced hair loss over the years, particularly older females who have had several babies. I have often seen it begin near the end of pregnancy and continue through lactation before the hair eventually grows back. I am not a vet or a doctor, and I will not pretend to diagnose it, but hormones and stress may be factors worth investigating properly.
Youngsters may also be over groomed. Babies sometimes pull at their mothers’ fur while clinging to thier mothers body, and the shape of the mother’s body may contribute to the pattern of hair loss. There could be several explanations. A photograph of one animal cannot responsibly be used to diagnose the health of an entire troop.
Nor do these baboons permanently live in bins. They do not. Come to Simon’s Town. Spend real time with them. Walk with them and observe how they live, where they travel and what they eat when they are given the opportunity to forage without constant pressure.
Their mountain habitat is presently bursting with extraordinary vegetation. Go up towards Signal School and see how vast and varied it is. After the 2023 fire, when approximately 95 percent of Waterfall’s home range looked like a moonscape, the recovery has been remarkable.
The pincushions and other indigenous plants are flourishing, and baboons are part of that living ecological system. They forage, travel and disperse seeds across the landscape.
Thank you, baboons, for the beautiful plants you help spread across this mountain.
The narrative used to devalue these animals is getting very old. When it is repeated by people presenting themselves as baboon lovers, it feels particularly treacherous.
These animals are not a propaganda photograph. They are living beings whose health, behaviour and ecological role deserve honest observation, proper independent assessment and the full truth.
