Originally published at: Raging baboons brutally attack hikers with rocks | Boing Boing
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You don’t see tapirs pulling that kind of shit.
The baboons were obviously not signatories to the international rules of war. The first salvo should have been;
terrifying
And so it begins… Only a matter of time before they come storming down that hill on horseback with machine guns.
Apparently there has been human and baboon conflict in this region for decades:
Humans Declare War on Baboons, JULY 10, 2005, LA Times
"She manages nine monitors who try to keep baboons away from Kommetje and other populated areas near South Africa’s wind-swept southern tip, seeking to reduce the potential for conflict with humans.
Trethowan says her project has helped reduce the number of baboons killed. Twenty-one were slain in 1999 and just eight last year.
But a spate of attacks hit the headlines in May. Trethowan reels off a list of baboon victims.
One baboon was shot and killed in a wealthy Cape Town suburb, reportedly by an irate homeowner.
Another, Golden Arrow, was found shot to death in a coastal village after Trethowan received threatening anonymous phone calls. The baboon’s 5-day-old baby starved despite the efforts of his traumatized brother, Quizzie, to care for him, Trethowan says.
The conflict is a result of the throngs of camera-toting tourists who crowded this scenic part of the country and ignored warning signs that threaten fines for feeding the baboons."
Um…Lodi Grope Festival, more like.
it’s like i’ve always said: Baboons? fucking terrifying.
A friend who grew up in South Africa told me that he and a friend once had the bright idea of throwing rocks at baboons raiding their garden. He said “That’s when we found out that baboons learn really fast, and that they can throw rocks a great deal harder and more accurately than teenage boys.”
Do. Not. Mess. With. Baboons.
Seems like a very bad idea to rest and eat while in the vicinity of potentially dangerous wildlife. Particularly primates, there are a good number of stories of hungry primates attacking people over food (or just because).
When I lived in Japan I decided to climb Fuji-San from the first station to the top. I left at around 8 pm and climbed until about a half hour before dawn to catch the sunrise.
Along the way a troop of monkeys took a disliking to me and started throwing pine cones and sticks at me. They had pretty decent aim. This went on for a couple miles until either they got bored or I left their territory. I was afraid they were going to come down and physically attack me, too.
One of many fine memories from that hike.
Utterly tangential, but I once had fond dreams of writing a cartoon strip with a Scottish Parrot and an Irish Monkey. McAque and McCaw…
The baboons are clearly fans of the prequels.
Driving across the Garden Route and then north toward Joburg it was weird seeing baboons as roadkill. “Hey, looks like a squirrel way up there, but bigger. Oh, wait.”
“Raging Baboons”
I think I saw them open up for the Angry Samoans in 1985.
Awwww… they’re using tools!
Sounds ike just another GOP headline…
“Raging baboons brutally attack [minority group] with rocks”
On behalf of baboons everywhere, I take great offense at that comparison.
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