Baboons will eat almost anything – including shark eggs. Chacma Baboons (Papio ursinus) are opportunistic omnivores that feed on bulbs, shoots, roots, seeds or fruit, as well as insects and reptiles. Baboons that live near the coast forage for protein- and oil-rich limpets and mussels along the intertidal zone. At very low tide some baboons venture far out along the rocks to search among the seaweed for shark eggs from which the baby shark has not yet hatched – a very tasty treat. However, the nutrient-rich low-lying areas that used to be part of the baboons’’ ancient foraging grounds have been settled by humans and most access to the sea and its bounty has been cut off.
Photo credit: Liz Hardman