Researchers plan to survey 500 to 1000 residents of several

• Author: Janice Matthews janice.matthews@acm.co.za
• Published date: 18 May 2023
• Publication title: False Bay Echo

The Baboon Attitudes Research Project is part of the overarching Unruly Natures research programme and is led by Johan Enqvist, a researcher at Stockholm University. He is being helped by two other academics, Kinga Psiuk, from Stockholm University, and Luke Metelerkamp, from Stellenbosch University, and five field workers who will assist with data collection

The Unruly Natures programme is being funded until 2025 by the Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development through the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University.

By asking residents to fill in a 15-20 minute survey on a tablet or paper, the project aims to get a better understanding of residents’ own experiences of and attitudes towards baboons and know what it is like to live in neighbourhoods that are regularly visited by baboons.

According to the research project’s website, the presence of wildlife in cities is a very relevant research topic in many parts of the world.

“Some wildlife find ways to survive or even thrive in cities’ predator-scarce, food-rich and artificially heated landscapes. Examples include otters in Singapore, badgers across UK towns, humpback whales in New York harbour, and leopards in Mumbai. This can lead to both positive and negative interactions between people and wildlife. Public opinion and understanding are often divided regarding the best way to respond to the presence of wildlife in cities. The urban setting, therefore, poses new challenges to landscape management, wildlife conservation, and environmental stewardship,” the site states.

Mr Enqvist says they are not baboon experts but rather researchers who want to understand how communities deal with this type of challenge.

“We are very conscious that this is a topic that is often hotly debated and controversial. We know that in some areas there are initiatives being run by local residents, in addition to the plan currently being run by the City. We don't want to interfere with those or disrupt any work that is going on locally. So that is why we are in constant dialogue with residents in different areas to keep track of what's happening in the area through our advisory board.

“More broadly we want the project to benefit communities in the sense that we are not going to advocate for one solution or approach to management. However, what we do feel is that any policy or any kind of approach will benefit from having better knowledge of what people actually think. Knowing about residents’ experience and...