Facing Off With A South African Baboon in an Upscale Neighborhood

True story.

I had just left seeing a bunch of penguins in a Reserve. I’m walking up a residential street that has a steep incline. I’m actually panting because I’m not used to climbing as I walk, which is usually on flat surfaces.

One of the members of our travel group is walking slightly ahead of me. He has a camera in his hand. He looks down the street and says, “Look!”

I looked down the street and saw these two baboons looking back at me. I stop, and then they stop. I want to run like Hell, but I can’t run up that hill. So I started praying and begging my heart to continue beating so I could reach the end of the street and get back safely into the bus.

I was later told that as long as someone does not have food, the baboons won’t mess with you, but my mind was blown away because the community I walked through was residential and upscale, not a rural community or a village.

No, I did not take this picture because I am not that brave.

My prayers were obviously answered. When I walk down the street in FL, I’m concerned about a barking dog, but when I walk down the street in Cape Town, I have to be concerned about encountering baboons.

#TIA

This is Africa.