A Fish Hoek couple said they saw a troop of baboons which were so drunk from drinking beer that they lay down in the road in front of cars and wouldn't budge. Those that tried to climb rocks fell off, and even when motorists hooted, the baboons didn't move away.

Joe and Frances Renney believe someone gave the baboons the beer on purpose so they could enjoy watching the animals' drunk behaviour.

"We were on the road between Kommetjie and Soetwater about 6pm on Monday, when we came across them. We often travel that road and love watching the baboons and their habits, but we could see something was wrong. When we looked closer, we saw two had beer bottles in their hands and there were about eight or more empty cans and bottles lying around them. You could see they were drunk. When they tried to get up, they reeled over. One tried to get onto a rock and just fell off. It was unbelievable. Cars were stopping because they wouldn't get out of the road.

"Someone must have given the beers to them because I don't believe they would be able to open them themselves. It's really a sad thing to do," Joe Renney said.

Zane Erasmus of Cape Nature Conservation said they had not had any reports of the incident, but if it were true, the culprit could be charged with feeding poison to animals. "If we catch anyone doing this, they will be charged. If the animals are sufficiently intoxicated they could die. Anyone who sees someone doing this must report it immediately and make a written statement," he said.

But Gavin Bell of National Parks Board said it was quite possible the baboons were not drunk at all, but just playing with the empty cans and bottles. "They often lie on that section of the road to get warm and look as though they've passed out. It is possible someone gave beer to them, but we've had no reports," Bell said.

He said a baboon from the same troop had been electrocuted recently and it affected its motor nerve functioning. "It was re-introduced into the troop last weekend. It may have been this one that was seen falling off the rock," Bell said.

- Melanie Gosling,
Environment Writer