MARAUDING MONKEY CLANS | SOUTH AFRICAN WILDLIFE

Cinemavixion Review

Herbert Ostwald's 2011 documentary, "Marauding Monkey Clans | South African Wildlife," plunges viewers into the tense coexistence between humans and the Smits Baboon Gang in the Table Mountain region. The film profiles charismatic, yet problematic, baboon individuals like Jimmy, Long-Fingered Fred, and Merlin, whose thieving antics—from snatching handbags to breaking into cars and restaurants—have made them a significant nuisance. As the baboon population faces escalating conflict with the human residents, who resort to drastic measures like poisoning and shooting, the documentary captures the division within the community between those who seek to protect the animals and those who view them as vermin. The narrative also follows the unconventional "Baboon Police," a unit recruited from local townships, as they employ slingshots, sticks, and whips in a daily battle to deter the baboons. Ostwald's work raises a poignant question about the possibility of a future where humans and these intelligent, adaptable creatures can share their environment peacefully.