Baboon Attack!

Well, not exactly an attack, but we were accosted by a Baboon on Buffels Baai beach last Monday. Brooke and I had promised the kids some beach time, so after hiking to Cape Point, we found a beach.

 

There were Chacma Baboons in the parking lot, and we had been warned that they were agressive, but they were nowhere near the beach, so we decided to carry on. Brooke took Marin to the bathroom and a baboon came in and went through the garbage while Brooke tried to ignore it. Later, on the beach, we noticed some baboons making their way in our direction. One made it to us and I stood up thinking I would scare it away. Note to self: when a baboon approaches, do not stand up thinking you will scare it away. It made a loud noise and ran over next to Marin. Brooke had the better intuition: relax and let it do what it is going to do until it goes away. It manhandled our water bottles and chewed on our sunscreen, then finally left. the best line of the experience was Sophia's. The first item the baboon picked up was one of our guide buooks. Sophia was crying and saying, "He's taking our book... and he's going to READ it!" Anyway, here is the culprit after having his way with our sunscreen.