Fred (baboon)

Last updated
Fred eating in a car Fred baboon.jpg
Fred eating in a car

Fred (died 25 March 2011) was a chacma baboon from Cape Town, South Africa. He came to international attention as the leader of a baboon "gang" [1] which developed a reputation for raiding homes and cars, as well as attacking local residents and tourists. This led to Fred being labelled as aggressive by authorities. [2] He was captured in 2011, and euthanized soon afterwards. [1] [3]

Fred was pursued by news photographers and local police for about three years. [3] During one attack in 2010, the baboon was reported to have caused injuries to three people while searching for food in Cape Town. [3] Two of the wounded required medical attention after the attack. [1] When baboon monitors were mobilised to disrupt Fred's activities, the baboon initiated a violent campaign against them as well. [4] Human negligence and "misguided efforts" were blamed for Fred's "demise" – "Because people want to love, laugh at and be entertained by baboons, they start a cycle of events that can lead to tragedy, as in the case of this baboon", the city said, adding "He targets cars with bags and visible food, but it is his ability to open closed car doors that surprised everyone". [1]

The decision to have him euthanised was not taken lightly and not without extensive discussions between all the parties involved. This baboon's aggression had recently escalated to the point where the safety of tourists, motorists, and other travellers along the road past Smitswinkel Bay was being threatened. – statement released by Cape Town's Baboon Operational Group. [5]

Although the majority of local residents supported the decision to kill Fred, a few of them made attempts to spare his life. Documentary filmmaker Joss Lean filmed Fred's capture before following the vehicle in which he was imprisoned amid efforts to have him released. The baboon conservation organization, Baboon Matters in nearby Kommetjie, also made several attempts to intercede on Fred's behalf. [2]

Fred was featured regularly in the British television series Baboons with Bill Bailey. [3] Following Fred's euthanization, the graphic dissection of Fred's body was shown on an episode of Inside Nature's Giants . X-rays revealed numerous shotgun pellets throughout Fred's body, and many more were found during the dissection. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Town</span> Legislative capital of South Africa

Cape Town is South Africa's oldest city. It serves as the country's legislative capital, being the seat of the South African Parliament. It is the country's second-largest city and the largest in the Western Cape. The city is part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape of Good Hope</span> Headland of Cape Peninsula, South Africa

The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Table Mountain</span> Flat-topped mountain overlooking the city of Cape Town, South Africa

Table Mountain is a flat-topped mountain forming a prominent landmark overlooking the city of Cape Town in South Africa. It is a significant tourist attraction, with many visitors using the cableway or hiking to the top. Table Mountain National Park is the most visited national park in South Africa, attracting 4.2 million people every year for various activities. The mountain has 8,200 plant species, of which around 80% are fynbos, meaning fine bush. It forms part of the Table Mountain National Park, and part of the lands formerly ranged by Khoe-speaking clans, such as the !Uriǁʼaes. It is home to a large array of mostly endemic fauna and flora.

Fred may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uitenhage</span> Place in Eastern Cape, South Africa

Uitenhage, officially renamed Kariega, is a South African town in the Eastern Cape Province. It is well known for the Volkswagen factory located there, which is the biggest car factory on the African continent. Along with the city of Port Elizabeth and the small town of Despatch, it forms the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chacma baboon</span> Species of baboon from the Old World monkey family

The chacma baboon, also known as the Cape baboon, is, like all other baboons, from the Old World monkey family. It is one of the largest of all monkeys. Located primarily in southern Africa, the chacma baboon has a wide variety of social behaviours, including a dominance hierarchy, collective foraging, adoption of young by females, and friendship pairings. These behaviors form parts of a complex evolutionary ecology. In general, the species is not threatened, but human population pressure has increased contact between humans and baboons. Hunting, trapping, and accidents kill or remove many baboons from the wild, thereby reducing baboon numbers and disrupting their social structure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Masiphumelele</span> Suburb of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

Masiphumelele is a township on the Cape Peninsula, South Africa, situated between Kommetjie, Capri Village and Noordhoek.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shark cage diving</span> Diving inside a protective cage to observe sharks in the wild

Shark cage diving is underwater diving or snorkeling where the observer remains inside a protective cage designed to prevent sharks from making contact with the divers. Shark cage diving is used for scientific observation, underwater cinematography, and as a tourist activity. Sharks may be attracted to the vicinity of the cage by the use of bait, in a procedure known as chumming, which has attracted some controversy as it is claimed to potentially alter the natural behaviour of sharks in the vicinity of swimmers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Table Mountain National Park</span> A nature conservation area on the Cape Peninsula in Cape Town, South Africa

Table Mountain National Park, previously known as the Cape Peninsula National Park, is a national park in Cape Town, South Africa, proclaimed on 29 May 1998, for the purpose of protecting the natural environment of the Table Mountain Chain, and in particular the rare fynbos vegetation. The park is managed by South African National Parks. The property is included as part of the UNESCO Cape Floral Region World Heritage Site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tulbagh</span> Place in Western Cape, South Africa

Tulbagh, named after Dutch Cape Colony Governor Ryk Tulbagh, is a town located in the "Land van Waveren" mountain basin, in the Winelands of the Western Cape, South Africa. The basin is fringed on three sides by mountains, and is drained by the Klein Berg River and its tributaries. The nearest towns are Ons Rust and Gouda beyond the Nuwekloof Pass, Wolseley some 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) to the south inside the basin, and Ceres and Prince Alfred Hamlet beyond Michell's Pass in the Warm Bokkeveld.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central African Republic Bush War</span> Civil war, 2004–2007

The Central African Republic Bush War was a civil war in the Central African Republic which lasted from 2004 to 2007 between Union of Democratic Forces for Unity (UFDR) rebels and government forces. The rebellion began after François Bozizé seized the nation's presidency in 2003. Actual fighting began in 2004. Around 10,000 people were displaced because of the civil unrest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manenberg</span> Suburb of Cape Town, in Western Cape, South Africa

Manenberg is a township of Cape Town, South Africa, that was created by the apartheid government for low-income Coloured families in the Cape Flats in 1966 as a result of the forced removal campaign by the National Party. It has an estimated population of 52,000 residents. The area consists of rows of semi-detached houses and project-like flats, known as "korre". The township is located about 20 km away from the city centre of Cape Town. It is separated from neighbouring Nyanga and Gugulethu townships by a railway line to the east and from Hanover Park by the Sand Industria industrial park to the west and Heideveld to the north. The northern part of Manenberg has wealthy people that are mostly Muslims. The rest of Manenberg has poor people that are mostly associated with Christianity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 South African municipal elections</span> South African municipal elections held on 18 August 2011

Municipal elections were held in South Africa on 18 May 2011, electing new councils for all municipalities in the country. Municipal elections are held every five years, and the previous municipal elections were held in 2006. The first municipal elections following the reorganisation of municipalities took place in December 2000.

Prior to 1994, immigrants from elsewhere faced discrimination and even violence in South Africa. After majority rule in 1994, contrary to expectations, the incidence of xenophobia increased. Between 2000 and March 2008, at least 67 people died in what were identified as xenophobic attacks. In May 2008, a series of attacks left 62 people dead; although 21 of those killed were South African citizens. The attacks were motivated by xenophobia. In 2015, another nationwide spike in xenophobic attacks against immigrants in general prompted a number of foreign governments to begin repatriating their citizens. A Pew Research poll conducted in 2018 showed that 62% of South Africans viewed immigrants as a burden on society by taking jobs and social benefits and that 61% of South Africans thought that immigrants were more responsible for crime than other groups. Between 2010 and 2017 the immigrant community in South Africa increased from 2 million people to 4 million people. The proportion of South Africa's total population that is foreign born increased from 2.8% in 2005 to 7% in 2019, according to the United Nations International Organization for Migration, in spite of widespread xenophobia in the country. This made South Africa the largest recipient of immigrants on the African continent in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mzoli's</span> Butchery and restaurant in Cape Town, South Africa

Mzoli's was a butchery in Gugulethu, a township on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa. Since Mzoli's opened in early 2003, the restaurant had become a popular gathering spot for Cape Town residents and a tourist attraction. Amongst Gugulethu's residents, Mzoli's Place has a reputation for public drunkenness and disrespect for the local community. Mzoli's is named after the founder and owner, Mzoli Ngcawuzele. The restaurant closed indefinitely in May 2021 partly due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ebrahim Patel</span> South African politician

Ebrahim Patel is a South African cabinet minister, who holds the position of Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition. He previously served as Minister of Economic Development from 2009 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Racism in South Africa</span> Overview of racism in South Africa

Racism in South Africa can be traced back to the earliest historical accounts of interactions between African, Asian, and European peoples along the coast of Southern Africa. It has existed throughout several centuries of the history of South Africa, dating back to the Dutch colonization of Southern Africa, which started in 1652. Before universal suffrage was achieved in 1994, White South Africans, especially Afrikaners during the period of Apartheid, enjoyed various legally or socially sanctioned privileges and rights that were denied to the indigenous African peoples. Examples of systematic racism over the course of South Africa's history include forced removals, racial inequality and segregation, uneven resource distribution, and disenfranchisement. Racial controversies and politics remain major phenomena in the country.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup is the 19th FIFA World Cup, the premier international association football tournament, being held in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July. It is the first time the finals of the tournament have been staged in an African host nation as South Africa were selected as hosts following a bidding in 2004. The impact of the event itself transcend those bound by its athletic aspect and appeal, and the socioeconomic aspects of the tournament are far reaching.

The Cape Town water crisis in South Africa was a period of severe water shortage in the Western Cape region, most notably affecting the City of Cape Town. While dam water levels had been decreasing since 2015, the Cape Town water crisis peaked during mid-2017 to mid-2018 when water levels hovered between 14 and 29 percent of total dam capacity.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Death sentence for robber baboon". The Times (South Africa) . Avusa. 26 March 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
  2. 1 2 Bamford, Helen (26 March 2011). "Infamous baboon put down". Independent Online (South Africa) . Independent News & Media . Retrieved 26 March 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Fred the baboon given lethal injection". The Daily Telegraph . 29 March 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
  4. "Baboon Fred who mugged tourists to be killed". The Australian . News Limited. 26 March 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-04-03. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
  5. "Cape Town's 'mugger' baboon Fred to be put down". BBC News . BBC. 26 March 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
  6. "Rogue Baboon". Channel4.com. Retrieved 11 January 2012.