All members as well as guests are invited to come to WCC’s 12th AGM on Tuesday 9 September at 17h30 at the Green House. The AGM business will be concluded in 30 minutes and will be followed by a most topical and fascinating talk.
TALK ON BABOONS
Immediately following the AGM, at about 18h00, guest speaker Matthew Lewis will give a talk on baboons.
The issue of baboons in the Overstrand is an emotive one which both humans and baboons are struggling to accommodate. Is there a solution? Come to the talk to hear about the latest thinking and research on the subject.
Matthew Lewis is in the final stages of completing his PhD thesis on baboon behaviour. He is an excellent speaker and was awarded the prize for the Best Student Presentation at the 2013 Fynbos Forum meeting at Kirstenbosch.
For centuries the foraging pattern of the local baboons has included migrating down to the coast to access protein-rich shell fish, but with increasing urbanisation, their path to the sea is now taking them through heavily built-up suburbs. Opportunistic access to ‘human’ food has encouraged them to go for this high calorie takeaway, bringing them into conflict with angry and frightened humans.
Baboons are known to be remarkably dexterous, highly adaptable animals that exhibit great dietary breadth. It is these characteristics that have allowed them to colonise diverse habitats across much of sub-Saharan Africa. These same characteristics are also at least partly to blame for their status as one of the most troublesome genera involved in human-wildlife conflict.
In his talk, Matthew will discuss the behaviour of a natural-foraging troop of Peninsula baboons (that exploit marine organisms as well as terrestrial plant foods), as well as some of the raiding behaviour observed on the Peninsula.
He will conclude by giving a brief account of recent research into methods for mitigating human-baboon conflict in urban settings and along the urban edge.
Please support WCC on this important occasion – and we wouldn’t want you to miss this interesting talk.