Two juvenile baboons brought a week of excitement and worry to Durban, roaming freely across city and suburban streets before finally being brought to safety, all thanks to the tireless work of local wildlife heroes and vigilant residents.
Durban, South Africa (29 September 2025) – For days, they were the talk of Durban, roaming suburban and city streets and even making local headlines. Now, thanks to the tireless efforts of wildlife heroes and alert residents, the saga of the two wandering baboons has finally come to a safe end.
These two juvenile baboons had been running a mock around Durban, reportedly since Sunday, 21 September.
After quite a search and with the assistance of various parties, including Durban and Coast SPCA, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and the Monkey Helpline, members of the Centre for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW) managed to track their whereabouts and set traps to finally capture the adventurous primates.
Both curious and full of character, the young female has been named Nonna and the young male, Willie. The baboons received full medical check-ups at the Northdene Veterinary Clinic. They have found safety and are settling in at CROW, where they are participating in engaging enrichment activities designed to keep their minds stimulated.
“They have settled into their new temporary digs, where they will stay under quarantine until Monday [29 September], when they will move into their more spacious luxury accommodation,” CROW said.
“While at the vet, we took blood samples for DNA analysis in order to ascertain which population they came from. From here, they will be kept at CROW until we receive our export permits and the receiving province has their import permits in hand.”
CROW confirmed that once all the legalities and necessary procedures are in place, the animals will be flown to a baboon specialised rehabilitation centre, where they will be joined into a troop under rehabilitation for eventual release back into the wild.
CROW thanks everyone involved and the Durban communities for their compassion for these two special animals, who deserve a second chance at a free life in the wild.
Sources: Centre for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife
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