When a male baboon suddenly appears in the middle of a construction site, it can create quite a stir. That was exactly the case when the faculty's wildlife clinic recently received an urgent phone call from Soshanguve's police service about a baboon on 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 soon were at the scene where the baboon was locked in one of the partially completed rooms and was hiding on a ventilation duct.
The baboon was then darted after which it ran onto the roof and fell asleep there. The construction team and the building's security staff were all assisting to remove the baboon from the roof. It was carefully carried over the roof and downstairs and brought back to the wildlife clinic of the faculty's Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital (OVAH) where it recovered.
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. The healthy baboon was then released into the custody of the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital who has the necessary permits to transport and release him.
Because the baboon was spotted in four different places in Soshanguve he was released in a nature reserve in Mpumalanga. Watch a video of the release here:
https://bit.ly/3XAx1XW
The baboon still asleep in the wildlife clinic after he was darted.
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