Boing Boing links to a story in National Geographic about “gangs” of baboons invading homes in suburban South Africa to raid refrigerators. Some people want to protect the animals; others want them removed or killed.

I think a better article would be written from the point of view of the baboons:

“Gangs” of Hairless Apes are Destroying the Savannah
Johannesburg, South Africa
October 4, 2006

Groups of hairless apes are destroying the savannahs and our habitat, and building strange structures. The only thing those pesky hairless apes are good for is putting cold food inside metal boxes in the structures, though they try to keep us from eating the food. The situation has caused rifts within our communites. Rival societies have formed, with some trying to protect the hairless apes and others wanting them removed or killed.

The chair of the Hairless-Ape-Free Forest Action Group says the hairless apes are a menace. “They destroy savannah to build houses. They pave over the ground with smooth, non-living surfaces. They know how to enter the savannah, and once they do, they make a mess. They dump trash and destroy vegetation.”

“I have had them in my habitat several times, even while I was there. They simply ignore me, or try to scare me away. I had to get out of the way. Even my mate got threatened by a hairless ape.”