We Mean It When We Say That Baboons Are Not Pets!

LAST MONDAY'S RESCUE FOLLOW UP
........... 🐵💜🍼🐵💙🍼 Beautiful Babies

On Monday 6th December we received information about a baby baboon that was to be kept as a pet (supposed to be a temporary arrangement only).

I acted immediately - at Stormberg Conservation, we do NOT give up, nor do we buy into the lies and excuses given to us by people.
I reiterated about the needs for the wellbeing and special care that these vulnerable babies need.

It got to the point where the facts and realities about baboons was being questioned, which so often happens when individuals want to turn the blame onto somebody else and shift the focus away from themselves.

At this point I involved the authorities without delay. Thank you to the official who assisted me and cared enough about the babies to act. I am eternally grateful.

After contacting the individual who was in possession of this little baboon girl, I learnt that there was in fact another baby baboon, a little boy. When I asked where he was, I was told that the baby boy had been collected from a 'friend' on Monday morning, where the little one apparently spent the weekend.

I was furious. There were phone calls back and forth, excuses made, and nothing made sense or sounded credible - at all!

I then realized my suspicions were correct.

During one of the conversations later in the day, I came to realise that this baby boy had NOT been fetched. He had, in fact, been 'sold'

After receiving contact details of this 'friend', I learnt that these two individuals were total strangers to each other and the individual who was in possesion of the the little girl had tried to SELL this little boy to Mr Pieter Buys, who REFUSED to pay a cent for him and instead rescued him from horrendous circumstances. He found him locked in a bird cage, cold and wet in a garage, shivering and shaking with no blanket.

I am of the opinion that the little boy wasn't wanted - he's about a month older than the little girl and he had a growth on his left shoulder blade and wasn't 'so attractive'. He was also a bit trickier to handle, so it seems he was 'disposable' In my eyes his PERFECT!

Thank God that it was Mr Buys who was offered this baby as he knows baboons. His daughter, too, nurtured the little boy and she would like to come and spend time with us and learn more about the care of baboons. How AWESOME is that. We look forward to welcoming her. Mr Buys is for sure a Baboon Hero! THANK YOU!

It's alleged that a farmer from this district had shot and killed three female baboons, two with infants clinging to their mothers. They were apparently left on their mothers' bodies to die. The staff apparently removed these babies and gave them to this individual.

This individual thought that it was 'cute' and a source of entertainment for their children, something different. Once again, education is key. We encouraged this individual to come and see us and learn about the wants and needs of baboons and to also be a voice for them, protect them and be a Baboon Hero. To discourage people from wanting them as pets at all.

Finally after getting most of the truth, we left on our eight hour plus journey at around 16h00 on Monday afternoon. We fetched both babies and were absolutely horrified to see the state they were in. Luckily, the boy had been rescued by Mr Buys or who knows what else he would have endured.

On Tuesday I sat outside on a blanket with these little souls ànd inspected them from head to toe. During this time, there were heartbreaking injuries and evidence of gross neglect.

He had this growth that looked like two little fingers on his shoulder blade, which was removed during the vet checkup on Friday, under general anesthetic and he now has stitches on the inside. His doing well. These growths have been sent away for testing. He is also very underwight. She does not suckle a teat and is extremely underweight, this too was confirmed by the vet. She is being fed with a medicine dripper and has come to love her special formula that is so good for them. Their guts have improved too.

Both babies have been given electrolytes which they thoroughly enjoy and this has really helped them. They have enjoyed some fresh fruit and they sit on a blanket in the kitchen and munch on Cheerios. This has become part of the daily routine at this stage. I am just happy they are eating and drinking. The little girl's sadness is becoming less and less evident and the two of them have the most beautiful little play sessions. She's even a little feisty! They are very concerned about each other and get very worried when the one can't see the other. They sleep together with us, wrapped in their blankets together. There has been such a change in such a small space of time, this has been so rewarding.

Original capture date: 13 December 2021