Brutal death of chacma baboon sparks outcry and call for urgent wildlife education initiatives

A wrong turn led to a tragic and shocking end for Raygun, a chacma baboon brutally killed at Botleng Secondary School in Delmas, Mpumalanga, over the weekend. Raygun was allegedly chased, beaten, set alight at the hands of learners, and later mutilated.

This brutal killing and online videos of the attack have sent shockwaves through the conservation community, with individuals commenting about Raygun’s death and the behaviour of the learners and staff on the school’s Facebook page.

An investigation is under way by the National Council of SPCAs into the killing of the baboon, but allegations persist that the school and members of the community are obstructing the investigation by refusing to identify the perpetrators, with learners allegedly told to delete the evidence. 

The deeper issue here is the lack of education on matters relating to natural animal behaviour, human-wildlife conflict, and the fact that no one is exempt from complying with the Animal Protection Act.

The National Council of SPCAs plans to begin a large-scale programme to educate children and adults alike about the sentience of animals, their protection under the law, and what to do when wildlife is encountered in built-up areas.  

Education urgently needed

National Council of SPCAs spokesperson Jacques Peacock told Daily Maverick that a lot of education was needed.  

“There is an incredible disconnect between belief systems and natural animal behaviour, which impacts negatively on our wildlife. This has been seen in various cases handled by the National Council of SPCAs, with varying species,” Peacock said.

The council has also encountered cases with vulture heads, monitor lizards and snake parts being sold, allegedly for medicinal purposes.

What happened? 

The Owl Rescue Centre had been tracking Raygun since 31 January 2025 after he left his troop, as he navigated his way through the suburbs. On 2 February 2025 it posted an update on Facebook stating that Raygun had been safely tracked to the Zwavelpoort valley near Olympus, east of Pretoria.

He would then hopefully find a safe high spot to sleep for the night, and if all went well, he would be back in the wild by 3 February.

But tragically, he made a wrong turn 40km later on his adventure and landed up on the roof of the school just outside of Delmas.

It is understood that this caused panic among the learners when they saw him running across the roof, and a subsequent attack occurred. Stones were thrown at him, and it ended with Raygun set alight and allegedly burnt to death.

The National Council of SPCAs said in a statement: “According to the school, 10 children had fainted earlier that morning, leading to the belief that the baboon had been sent to cast a spell.”

During the night on Friday, 7 February 2025, after Raygun’s body had been burnt, the Owl Rescue Centre said that according to some residents, someone had cut the baboon’s hands and head off, and then cut his chest open and taken out his heart. 

The team retrieved his remains from the school early on Saturday morning, and buried him under a Marula tree in the Owl Rescue Centre’s sanctuary in Hartbeespoort on Saturday afternoon. 

Danelle Murray, co-founder of the Owl Rescue Centre, told Daily Maverick: “We chose to lay Raygun to rest at the sanctuary to provide him with some dignity following the violent manner in which he was taken from this world.” 

His remains were then exhumed for a National Council of SPCAs inspector to collect and transfer through to Onderstepoort for an autopsy.

Deeply rooted in superstition

After consulting with the school management that is responsible for the approximately 1,800 children on the property, the National Council of SPCAs said it became clear that this case was deeply rooted in superstition regarding baboons being used in witchcraft.

With concern about beliefs possibly influencing the behaviour of the learners involved and the response by some community members and the school regarding this incident, Daily Maverick spoke to the Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (Contralesa).

Contralesa president Kgosi Mathupa Mokoena said that in the old days there was a superstition that if wild animals, in particular baboons, were found in a village or homestead it was witchcraft, or that the animal had been sent by someone. Or that the baboon was not just a baboon, but someone who had turned themselves into a baboon and was coming to bewitch a family. 

“That belief was there, and it was rife,” Mokoena said.

“As we grow up, we discover that some of these things are just myths spread which cannot be proved as witchcraft — animals move freely, anyway. In the park, lions jump the fence into villages, or even elephants and buffaloes.

“This thing of people saying if you see a wild animal in a village, it means witchcraft, that is a myth… All of us used to believe this when we grew up but now, we (have) sober minds and we know that this is not witchcraft,” Mokoena said. 

Mokoena said this belief must be condemned, and that awareness campaigns were needed to educate people in schools and communities about the natural behaviour of animals.

“We as parents, traditional leaders, church leaders, community leaders and the media need to join hands and educate people about animal behaviour,” Mokoena said.

He added that as elders, it was the school leadership’s responsibility to rise above “petty beliefs” and educate the learners, otherwise those learners would leave school believing that animals of this kind could cause harm and bewitch people. 

Large-scale education programme

In a statement, the National Council of SPCAs said it planned to begin a large-scale programme to educate children and adults alike about the sentience of animals, their protection under the law, and what to do when wildlife was encountered in built-up areas.  

Responding to Daily Maverick, Peacock said that they would be meeting with the Mpumalanga Department of Education, and a programme would be formulated thereafter.  

“Hopefully this will serve as a basis to work with the rest of the provincial education departments. We aim to create booklets to distribute to schools regarding animal sentience and protection, as a grassroots education programme. We hope to educate on radio nationwide, although there is no budget for this project,” Peacock said.

The main aim was to educate people about human-wildlife conflict, what to do in a situation like this, address misunderstandings regarding animal behaviour, and the fact that custom or cultural beliefs do not exempt anyone from complying with the Animal Protection Act, which is national legislation.

Jasper Zwane, from the Department of Education in Mpumalanga, confirmed that a meeting would take place on Friday, 14 February 2025, between the two parties. 

“The view of the department is that we must work collaboratively to address all related issues following this development,” Zwane told Daily Maverick.

The department also issued a statement on the matter, relaying that the behaviour of the learners involved in the killing was completely unacceptable.

“This incident highlights the critical need for education on the importance of preserving nature and respecting wildlife,” read the statement.

The department said that learners must be taught to understand their role in protecting the environment, and urged all stakeholders — schools and communities — to work together to prevent such incidents in future. 

Detailed report requested

In addition, the department has requested a detailed report from the school. 

All attempts to get a response from the school by Daily Maverick (phone calls, emails, and WhatsApps), were unsuccessful. A response will be added once received. 

Murray said that the Owl Rescue Centre had been pushing for years for an educational programme focused on wildlife conservation education. 

“We hope that the department will now understand its significance and collaborate with us to educate children about the issue and instil a sense of responsibility for our planet and all its inhabitants,” Murray said.

Regrettably, cases of cruelty are quite common in South Africa. The Owl Rescue Centre said that they therefore used every possible opportunity, particularly when working in informal areas, to educate communities and dispel cultural myths about animals.

The National Council of SPCAs is offering a R20,000 reward for information leading to a successful conviction of those involved in harming Raygun, and urged those who filmed the attack to come forward.

“We are compiling all evidence, and with leads still coming through we hope to have substantial evidence that can be submitted to the SAPS,” Peacock said. DM