The News 22 March 16

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Village

NEWS The

Issue 15

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News You Can Use

22 MARCH 2016

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4 MIMOSA ROAD, INDUSTRIAL AREA, HERMANUS TEL: 028-312 2280 • 028 312 1380 EMAIL: ccsplant@telkomsa.net

Plans to scare baboons away The roar of predators, the sound of animals dying or in distress and even small pyrotechnics that produce a loud bang will be employed to scare baboons out of town. This after residents agreed unanimously at a Ward 3 meeting that the proposal by the company Human Wildlife Solutions (HWS) be accepted. The Fernkloof troop has been terrorising residents for many years despite several attempts ranging from fencing to baboon monitors and even shooting them with paintball guns. According to Ziggy Rode from HWS the idea behind the scheme is to create both a “virtual fence on the urban edge and a landscape of fear for the baboons”. “We create this environment by collaring both the dominant male and female of the troop. With the collars we will be able to track the movements of the troop via cell phones. If they get too close to town the sound boxes are deployed to scare them away. The sound boxes play amongst others predator calls and alarms, and make use of ‘bear bangers’, a small pyrotechnic device that makes a loud bang.” Through this a “virtual boundary” is created and the baboons will accept that town is a potentially dangerous place where they dare not venture into. According to Ziggy the Fernkloof troop uses Die Grot above Voëlklip in summer and the golf course in winter as their sleeping grounds. “We need to change that behaviour and move the baboons higher up into the mountains to find a new sleeping place.” According to HWS this is a humane way of moving baboons out of urban areas. There is no need for culling, physical fences or a lot of baboon monitors. “We have implemented this system in Gordon’s Bay and only had to use the sound boxes on two occasions since 12 January. The baboons have not ventured into town again,” says Ziggy.

MARCH FLOWERING INTO AUTUMN: One of the late summer surprises in Hermanus are the many Haemanthus coccineus or ‘bloedblomme’ that are popping up from the undergrowth along the cliff path. Common names for this perennial bulb are paint brush, March flower and April fool while in Afrikaans they are referred to as rooikwas, bobbejaansool, and velskoenblaar due to the shape of the leaves. The name for Haemanthus is derived from the Greek word haima (for blood) and anthos (for flower). Coccineus is the Latin word for red or scarlet. A Flemish botanist by the name of de L'Obel is reputed to have illustrated this species as far back as 1605 and in all probability Haemanthus was one of the very first SA flowers to appear in a European publication. Read more about this striking and intriguing plant at www.plantzafrica.com Picture: Tanya Tiefenthaler – Facebook: I Love Hermanus

By scaring the baboons higher into the mountains they will not be kept away from any of their natural food sources. The pyrotechnics disintegrate in the air and no fires caused by this have been recorded since 2012. According to Kari Brice, Ward 3 Councillor, the project will be funded by the municipality and private donors. In 2012/’13 R1,3 million was spent on baboon monitoring. In 2014/’15, the cost was about R600 000. The baboon monitoring programme has been terminated and at present there are no alternative plans on the table. The enthusiastic and unanimous decision by residents to implement the baboon scaring project means that work on this will start as soon as possible. The cost would be close to R100 000 and only two people will be needed to track the baboon movements and deploy the sound boxes when necessary. - De Waal Steyn


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