This hungry baboon thought he found an easy meal when he saw some goose eggs in a nest, but he got a rude-awakening when the parents attacked him!
47-year-old Colin Pretorius, the sales and marketing manager at Ngwenya Lodge, was sitting in his office in front of the Crocodile River when he captured this once-in-a-lifetime sighting. Colin shared his footage and story with LatestSightings.com.
“The Crocodile River is a sight to behold, and the stretch of water in front of Ngwenya Lodge is a favorite nesting spot for Egyptian geese. Over the past few years, hundreds of Egyptian geese have visited this location to lay eggs. The local baboons are aware of this as well, and on this specific day, a large group of them appeared in search of food.”
“The baboon troop needed to cross the river to have any hope of reaching the goose eggs because they were on the far side of it. Most of the troop seemed hesitant about crossing, but one male in particular had his eyes set on the prize, and a little water was not going to deter him.”
“As he approached the water’s edge, he increased his pace and began almost bouncing on the hot sand. Without hesitation, he entered the water and kept moving towards the geese. Hoping over a deep channel in the river, you could see nothing was going to stop him from what he wanted.”
“As soon as he reached the sand on this side of the river, he went directly to one of the many nests. The parents were right on top of their nest, but that didn’t bother him even one bit! He ran in and grabbed an egg. The mother and father geese began alarm-calling, screaming, and making any noise possible to deter the intruder. And to be honest, it did nothing to the baboon, he continued grabbing and snatching at the nest.”
Baboons are known to be omnivores and will eat anything from grass seeds to antelope babies. This varied diet is vital for their survival, as their body demands that they have a balanced diet, so proteins, fiber, and even sugars from fruit are all very important to baboons. Something like eggs, which are extremely nutritious and high in protein, makes the perfect snack for a baboon.
“The goose parents then even tried to physically attack the baboon, jumping on his back and paddling at him with their web feet in hope of getting him to stop. But this baboon just would not care; he picked up an egg while one of the geese was on his head, cracked it open, and began eating it.”
“The rest of the geese in the area at this time arrived to look around but did not attempt to assist. So, the parents of these eggs had to eventually back off to avoid becoming this very hungry baboon’s dinner.”