Dog House Blog On Thieving Thursday!

Over in South Africa the street battle for domination of the hood has turned nasty. Yes man and baboon, are playing dirty by using guerrilla tactics. For the baboons it means swarming SAS style up the sheer sides of blocks of flats, opening windows and plundering anything inside. Usually they just want food, but sometimes a flapping set of net curtains or a childs' cuddly toy bear can provide some added entertainment. For the humans, the weapons of choice tend to be paintball guns and pepper sprays. They have the momentary effect of driving the baboons away, but hunger and sheer nerve always bring them back. These are the scenes which regularly affect life in Cape Town, South Africa, where man and baboon share a sometimes uncomfortable existence. Protected on the Cape Peninsula since 1999, there are now around 500 baboons living in 16 groups, increasingly cut off from their old, native habitats by the sprawling city. Whilst some don't give a monkey about their neighbours, other go ape as they steal anything they can get their grubby little mitts on. They are literally driving the residents bananas.