About

The Chacma baboon (Papio ursinus ursinus) is indigenous to the Cape Peninsula and plays an important role in the local ecosystem, especially in seed dispersal, which helps maintain Cape Town’s biodiversity. Baboons are also a notable attraction for both local and international tourists.

Across sub-Saharan Africa, baboons prefer low-lying areas for feeding and high areas like cliffs, caves, and trees for sleeping. However, much of the low-lying land in the Cape Peninsula has been turned into urban, industrial, and agricultural areas. This has led to increasing human-baboon conflict, as baboons—facing no natural predators—frequently enter urban spaces in search of easily available, high-energy human food.

To reduce conflict and improve baboon and community well-being and welfare, an inclusive and collaborative approach between authorities, management bodies, and communities is being developed.

The Cape Peninsula Baboon Joint Task Team (CPBJTT), a cooperative structure between three spheres of government—the City of Cape Town, South African National Parks, and Cape Nature—is responsible for ensuring the sustainable management of the Cape Peninsula Chacma Baboons. The CPBJTT has partnered with Shark Spotters, a well-established human-wildlife conflict non-profit organisation, to implement the Cape Peninsula Baboon Strategic Management Plan.