19 June 2009
Cape Town — Sol's penchant for luxury living has been his undoing. The male baboon who had previously hung out in exclusive Fresnaye and Upper Sea Point has been captured while visiting a house in "millionaires' row" in Hout Bay.
He was tranquillised after being seen sitting quietly in a bedroom with a huge flat-screen television set.
Sol, from the Tokai troop, made headlines last month when he became the first baboon to reach the summit of Lion's Head since the Table Mountain troop was shot out in the 1980s.
He was taken home after being captured, but went walkabout again this week, visiting the Klein Leeukoppie Estate of hotel magnate Sol Kerzner, after whom he was named, and checking out the smart houses in Helgarda Estate above Sandy Bay.
On Thursday he entered one of these homes and was trapped when two women ran out and slammed the door behind them.
Marlei Martins and Mzukisi Nkewu from baboon conservation and monitoring group Baboon Matters responded to their call and entered the house.
"It was amazing - apart from a few slices of bread, a couple of broken eggs on the floor and some open cupboards, it was really neat," said Martins.
"We went upstairs and there he was, sitting quietly in this larney bedroom."
Because Sol had become wary after being previously trapped, Martins said she entered the room first with Nkewu behind her concealing a blow gun loaded with a tranquillising dart. But when she raised the instrument to her shoulder, Sol made a dash for the bathroom, Martins said.
"He got a little bit panicky in there and started jumping on some shelving, but Mzukisi was amazing and got a bull's-eye with the first dart, right in the backside."
Sol went down after about 10 minutes. After a quick examination by Sun Valley veterinarian Hernand Azorin, he was taken to Plateau Road bordering the Cape Point section of the Table Mountain National Park, where he was freed.
"We had permission to release him there, and there's a beautiful troop that is a bit short of males, so we're really hoping that he stays and makes this his new home," said Martins.
"It was a successful day and we're all on a bit of a high."
Baboon Matters, a not-for-gain company, is looking for a sponsor for a gas-powered dart gun which costs about R12 000.
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