You never know exactly what you’re going to get when going on safari in the Kruger National Park. Maybe it’ll be one of the big five, or a leopard is in the middle of hunting an impala.
There might be a snake battling a bird, or maybe you’ll see some baboons. Maybe, in order to see those baboons up close, you won’t even have to go on a game drive, as they’ll come and find you while you’re having a relaxing day by the pool.
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For Jacques Schutte, this is exactly what happened. While relaxing by the pool at Skukuza, a troop of baboons caught sight of the cool water, and immediately decided they wanted a part of that lifestyle.
A Day In The Sun
Perhaps they’d had a busy day living their baboon lives, and wanted a little bit of a break. That’s why most people choose to spend time by a pool after all, it can offer a nice and relaxing respite from the heat of the day.
For a baboon, they don’t have much choice other than being out in that heat, and while finding shaded areas might help, there’s nothing better for cooling down than a nice dip in the pool.
The fact that there were people around didn’t seem to bother these baboons in the slightest. Much like the average UK tourist, they had set aside the time for their holiday and they were going to make the most of it.
No Running By The Pool
Their takeover seemed to get very chaotic very quickly. These baboons weren’t the deck chair and strong drink style of holiday makers, and they weren’t there to pay any attention to health and safety.
These baboons were running all around the pool, playing some kind of chasing game, with lost of diving, swimming, and more than enough splashing to go around.
One thing was for sure, these baboons were having an amazing time on their pool holiday, and they weren’t going to get out of that pool in a hurry.
Monkeying Around
Anytime one of them did climb out of the pool, it was so they could chase one of their fellows until one or both of them fell right back into the water.
One of them even did a very passable cannon ball jump into the water, although on the whole their diving skills were a little lacking, and they could really have done with some more practice before commandeering the entire pool.
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Not Quite A Relaxing Day
It didn’t seem like any of these baboons were going to run out of steam. Despite the presence of people like Jacques around, they must have felt relatively safe to be engaging in such carefree games.
Playing is one activity which seems to connect almost all animals, especially younger ones, and as some of these baboons seemed able to swim fairly well, this wasn’t a new game for them.
It certainly made for a fun sighting, and while it may not have been as relaxing for others around the pool, it would definitely be very memorable.