Baboons Wreck Havoc In Gwanda Town

Baboons roaming around a township in Gwanda

BY AMANDA NCUBE | @The_CBNews | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | APR 30, 2021

For Gwanda residents, baboons have become a menace that has taken over their lives, costing them in unimaginable ways.

GWANDA (The Citizen Bulletin) — Nkazimulo Ncube from Gwanda Town had to leave work early after receiving a phone call from her neighbour about a disaster at her house.

When she arrived, she found a panel on her front door smashed. A trail of foodstuffs welcomed her on her verandah made her realise that the situation was worse than she had anticipated.

Baboons had smashed a panel on her front door, gained entry into her house, where they wreaked havoc. In the process, Ncube lost most of her foodstuffs.

“The baboons left my house in complete disarray. They went through my cupboards in the kitchen and either ate or spilt most of the food. They even opened the fridge.”
Nkazimulo Ncube, Gwanda resident

“They also went into every other room in the house, where they pulled out drawers, clothes, and anything to get their hands on. They even broke my kitchen utensils like plates and cups,” she says.

Ncube says this invasion by the baboons left her with no food to feed her family, and she had to seek donations from her neighbours. She says the baboons were spotted by a passerby who noticed that they had invaded the house.

The passerby alerted neighbours, who managed to drive away the animals. Ncube says she does not know how to recover the property that she lost.

This is the predicament facing residents in Gwanda Town, especially in the CBD, as they have had to deal with the human-wildlife conflict for decades. The baboons are also a menace in institutions in the CBD, such as schools and health facilities.

Norman Nkomo also stays in the CBD and says the baboons cost him a lot of money when they smashed his car window. Dube says his vehicle was parked in his yard over the weekend when he heard a loud noise as the window was smashed.

Baboons have remained a menace to Gwanda residents for many years now. Image by Tim and PJ

Nkomo had left a loaf of bread on the back seat and believes that is what attracted the baboons.

“The window had a slight crack which I think made it easy for the baboons to smash it. They smashed the window and fled with the loaf of bread.”
Norman Nkomo, Gwanda resident

Nkomo says the baboons have previously destroyed the wipers, lights and mirrors on his car. He says the damage caused by the animals is highly costly.

Residents are always forced to be a step ahead of the baboons, which are very calculative and constantly display traits of humans such as opening doors and opening taps leaving the water running.

The animals also damage infrastructure at homes and institutions. Residents have failed to engage in garden and poultry projects because of the baboons.

Molvin Dube, the Gwanda Residents Association information and publicity officer, says the baboons started appearing in 2007, but they were few.

He says their number has now tripled, turning the CBD into a game park. The baboons are reportedly invading some suburbs in the high-density suburbs, close to the old dumpsite. He says if not contained, the baboons could start attacking people.

Ward 2 councillor Nappy Moyo says the baboons have remained a menace to residents for many years, with the municipality continuously engaging the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Authority (ZimParks) to come up with a permanent solution for the problem.

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Clr Moyo says when it comes to wildlife; the municipality does not have the authority to deal with the matter. ZimParks officials occasionally shoot to scare away the baboons, but they return after a few days.

ZimParks national spokesperson Tinashe Farawo says Gwanda is one of several towns in the country facing the challenge of baboons. He says a permanent solution for the problem would be to capture and translocate the baboons to a distance of about 300 kilometres, but resources are a constraint.

“The challenge is that animals are overpopulated, resulting in these baboons which are roaming the streets in various towns. The solution to the problem will be to capture and translocate the baboons for a distance of about 300 kilometres, but we don’t have resources. Another solution is the use of lethal means, but it’s impossible to kill all baboons,” he says.

Farawo says in the meantime, residents must cease feeding the baboons. Local authorities also have to ensure there is proper waste management in their towns.

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