How to catch a Baboon.

A Bushman knows. If he is still living in the bush.
By the way, their real name is "San".
You may wonder why anyone wants to catch a baboon. They don't make good eating so the best thing you can do with it is let it go again....unless you're thirsty, in the desert and don't know where the water is. Baboons have been living in the area all their life and know very well where the water is.

To get the baboon to lead you to water you need some salt and a termite hill.
(The termite nest in the picture above will not do, because it is in a tree and may be difficult to reach!)
First you need to make a hole in the termite nest, narrow at the top and widening inside. The hole should be just large enough to get your hand inside. Make sure the baboon is watching you, which is not difficult as baboons are more curious than is good for them. Next we make the hole even more intriguing for him by putting some seeds in it....Then we go away.
Some minutes later, when we come back we hope to find the baboon with his hand in the hole grasping the seeds. His closed hand being too large to draw out of the hole and him being too stupid and terrified to realise to let go of the seeds, he becomes our captive.

Salt is most animals favourite sweet. We give him plenty of it and wait.

Released and good and thirsty, he will lead us straight to the water, if we can keep up with a running baboon!


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