Baboon shops at upmarket Constantia centre

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Thanks to its proximity to Cape Town’s urban edge, Constantia and other surrounding southern suburbs areas are often prone to visitors of, let’s say, a ‘wilder’ nature.

Upmarket shopping centre Constantia Village saw a rather different customer this week, reported Cape {town} Etc …

Optometrist’s Mullers was the unlikely destination for a baboon who may not have, um, seen – or smelt – numerous other food outlets nearby.

Video footage of the baboon’s shopping trip shared to Peter Flentov, admin of community Facebook group The Atlantic Seaboard Community Forum, shows the baboon checking out the store before exiting – empty-handed:

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In the video, a commotion can be heard in the background to which a woman responds ‘Don’t freak out. No, but don’t scream’ while others are seen capturing video footage.

Frequent visitors

Baboons are becoming more and more frequent visitors in the southern suburbs, entering houses and emptying bins as their natural habitant continues to be inhabited by humans.

Interacting with wild animals, including baboons, can be dangerous.

Therefore, for the safety and well-being of the animals, the public is urged to maintain a respectful distance and not to engage with them.

The Animal Welfare Society offers guidelines on how to interact with baboons (and other wildlife):

Do not disturb the animals or distract them from their natural behaviour.
Do not feed them to lure them for the ‘perfect shot’. Feeding baboons is illegal and you can be fined up to R40 000 and/or receive one year’s imprisonment.
Maintain a minimum distance of 15 metres from baboons at all times, as they may respond aggressively in defence of the troop.
Remain in your vehicle if you encounter baboons on the side of the road. This will reduce the risk of an accident and minimise the disturbance to the troop.
Avoid selfies, as this requires you to get close. Use social media responsibly to showcase the baboons from a safe distance instead.