WATCH: Urgent appeal to build baboon enclosure and save orphaned infant
Wildlife Paws in Dullstroom is racing to raise approximately R350 000 to build a baboon enclosure that could save an orphaned baby’s life and create a future space for rehabilitation and release back into the wild.
A baby baboon was found alone roughly twelve weeks ago after losing his mother.
At the time, he was only about two weeks old, tiny, vulnerable, and completely dependent. He would not have survived on his own. Mr Deon Cornelius (from Ubhetyan) contacted Wildlife Paws and arrangements were made to have him taken to Wildlife Paws in Dullstroom, where he has been cared for ever since.
A future depends on more than survival
But keeping him alive now is only the first step.
For this little male baboon to have any real chance at a future, he must grow up as a wild baboon. That means being raised by other baboons, learning natural behaviour, and eventually becoming part of a troop. Without that, he cannot be released. A baboon raised in isolation cannot survive in the wild and will be rejected or killed by established troops.
According to Wildlife Paws, the only humane solution is to introduce him to a surrogate mother in a semi-wild enclosure built to strict speculations and begin building a troop that can one day be released back into a natural, safe environment.
Building a safe space for rehabilitation
To make this possible, a secure rehabilitation enclosure must be built. In collaboration with Dullstroom Bird of Prey and Rehabilitation Centre, a one-hectare area has already been made available. However, it must be developed to strict standards, including a double electric fence, to create a safe, controlled space that closely resembles the wild.
The cost to build this enclosure is estimated at around R350 000.
Why the enclosure is urgently needed
In previous years, orphaned baby baboons could be sent to facilities in other provinces. New Nature Conservation regulations no longer allow this, and there is currently no suitable baboon rehabilitation facility in Mpumalanga. Without this enclosure, there is nowhere for this baby to go.
“If he reaches six months without the enclosure and surrogate mother in place, he will ultimately have to be euthanised,” Wildlife Paws explains. “At this stage, we are keeping him safe and caring for him, but time is limited.”
A long-term solution for many more lives
This enclosure will not only save one life, it will allow Wildlife Paws to take in future orphaned baboons, raise them in social groups, and release them back into the wild where they belong. Right now, without a facility, people who find orphaned baboons often have no alternative but to have them put down.
Wildlife Paws in collaboration with Dullstroom Bird of Prey has already shown what is possible with the correct structures in place. The centre has an outstanding success rate in rehabilitating and releasing, having a release record of over 100 mammals and raptors per year. The baboon troops, once established will be released into suitable wild areas, far from human settlements to live out their lives in peace.
How you can help
We are asking South Africa to help make the same future possible for baboons.
Donations can be made through their BackaBuddy campaign: CLICK HERE
Your support can help give this baby baboon, and many others who may follow, the chance to grow up, return to the wild, and live the life nature intended.
@middelburgobserver Orphaned, still just a baby. Without surrogate moms and a baboon enclosure, he will be euthanised at six months. Help Wildlife Paws in Dullstroom save his life. WildlifePaws, BirdsofPrey, Dullstroom, SaveBabyBaboon, NatureConservation, WildlifeRescue, OrphanBaboon, MpumalangaWildlife
