Date: November 8, 2017
Source: Swansea University
Summary:
New research shows how canny baboons
in Cape Town use a sit-and-wait tactic before raiding people's homes in search
of food.
Scientists from Swansea
University are part of an international team who have revealed how canny
baboons in Cape Town, South Africa, use a sit-and-wait tactic before raiding
people's homes in search of food.
"Raiding baboons are a real
challenge in the Cape Peninsula, South Africa. The baboons enter properties to
raid in gardens and bins, but also enter homes and sometimes take food directly
from people," said Professor Justin O'Riain, Director of the Institute for
Communities and Wildlife in Africa at the University of Cape Town, and
co-author on the study published by Scientific Reports.
In a previous study, the team
showed that whilst Cape Town's baboon management strategy was keeping baboons
away from the urban space, some males were still finding ways in. The team
therefore built bespoke baboon tracking collars allowing them track the
movements and activity levels of 10 males via GPS and accelerometer sensors.
Dr Gaëlle Fehlmann, lead author
of the study, said: "People assume the baboons don't have enough food in
their natural habitats and therefore have no choice but to forage in town. In
fact, our research shows there is plenty of food in the natural environment
where there is very little risk of the baboons being disturbed by anyone. In
contrast, the chances of human-baboon conflicts in urban areas are high, but so
are the food rewards, which are 10 times richer in terms of calories."
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