Local Outreach

Baboon-human conflict is pervasive in the Cape Peninsula, elsewhere in South Africa, and in Africa as a whole. We at Imfene are trying to mitigate this conflict by providing educational material to the public about baboon behaviour and ecology, principles of conservation biology, baboon commensalism, and how we can modify our behaviour to reduce baboon-human conflict.

One of the most successful strategies in managing the Cape Peninsula baboon population over the past decade has been the Baboon Monitor Program. Despite its successes, however, this program has historically been underfunded and undervalued. This is in part a result of local residents’ lack of appreciation of baboons and their place in nature. As a result of their repeated negative interactions, many residents now view baboons as pests, with some even resorting to violence against what they perceive as a threatening species.

If you are resident in an area populated by baboons, please visit the links on our Information tab above to learn about baboon commensalism, how we've contributed to it, and what we can do to mitigate it. If you own a property that is frequented by baboons, you may find our page on "Baboons and your property" to be helpful in learning what on your property attracts baboons to it in the first place and how you might use deterrents to encourage baboons to leave. Whether your own property is frequented by baboons or not, you should visit the page on "Our behaviour and baboons" to learn how to avoid further contributing to the problem. If you'd like to learn more about the causes of commensalism or would simply like to educate yourself a bit about baboon behaviour and ecology, then please visit our "Causes of baboon commensalim" and "Basic information about baboons" links under Resources below.