WATCH: UP wildlife vets remove baboon from north of Pretoria magistrate’s court

Veterinarians from the Wildlife Clinic of the University of Pretoria’s (UP) Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital (OVAH) and veterinary students rescued a stray baboon on Thursday, June 20 at the new Soshanguve Magistrate’s Court construction site.

According to when the male baboon suddenly appeared at the construction site, it created a stir.

The clinic responded to an urgent phone call from the Soshanguve police about a baboon at the premises of Soshanguve’s new Magistrate’s Court.

Specialist veterinary wildlife veterinarian, Professor Katja Koeppel together with final year veterinary students, Ashleigh Pienaar, Gina João and Andrew Robson responded to the police calls for assistance.

Upon arrival, Koeppel said they found the baboon locked in one of the partially completed rooms and hiding on a ventilation duct.

Koeppel said the baboon was darted as it ran onto the roof.

“It fell asleep there.

“The construction team and the building’s security staff were all assisting to remove the baboon from the roof.”

The baboon was carefully carried over the roof and downstairs and brought back to the Wildlife Clinic of the OVAH where it regained consciousness.

According to Prof Koeppel, the entire construction team was caring and concerned about the welfare of the baboon and it was great to work with them.

On Friday the healthy baboon was released into the custody of the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital which has the necessary permits to transport and release it.

The Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital later released the baboon into a nature reserve in Mpumalanga.

Watch a video of the release here:

Do you have more information about the story?

Please send us an email to bennittb@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.

For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East

For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram