The controversy over the relocation of a well-known baboon in the Cape Peninsula is inspiring the works of some local artists.
They have added their voices to the ongoing saga using their paint brushes and photography.
The relocation of Kataza also known as SK11 from his Slangkop troop in Kommetjie
to Tokai has cast the spotlight on baboon management in the region.
Award winning wildlife photographer Pete Oxford says, "My mission is conservation.
My mission is to increase bi odiversity and help biodiversity.
It is being lost at a tremendous rate and with baboons in mind, we are using photography of the baboons to create empathy and show them as the individuals that they are." Painter Antoinette Coetzee says, "If I paint my animals, I try to paint my animals to give emotion to see the hurt in their eyes and to talk via the painting about what is happening with them at the moment.
I paint with my soul to give the people the message of the animals
that are suffering at the moment." Some of the paintings on canvas are currently on silent auction to raise funds for the NGO, Baboon Matters.
These artists are also coming up with innovative, positive solutions, to lessen the conflict arising from living in close proximity to wild animals.
Sculptor Cornelia Stroop has come up with a design to solve one of the biggest headaches of living in close proximity to baboons by introducing baboon- proof rubbish bins in nearby Pringle Bay.
Meanwhile, the reintegration of Kataza into the Tokai baboon troop is ongoing.
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