A Saudi Arabia baboon war is taking place and the animals seem to be winning.
According to Arab News, a war is taking place in Kiad and residents are in a fight with baboons on a daily basis. As the baboons search for food and drink, the residents that get in their way are becoming victims.
One resident, Hussein Al-Barakati told Arab News that he's worried about his mother's safety as she lives at home and baboons constantly raid her home in search of water. The area has been unusually dry , so the animals are looking to humans to find a source of water.
Helli resident Adel Medini spoke to Arab News about the ongoing war. "It's a daily game of hide and seek. The baboons are targeting empty houses and are well aware of what they are doing. The assault on the village is not random, as some believe. They proceed according to studied plans. That's why their attacks do not fail. For example, imagine a resident who is absent from their home for a period of time. Even though it's just one day, he is surprised to return to find his home in disarray. Some people in this situation thought that thieves had broken into and ransacked their houses ... The problem is that the village's houses are old and non-roofed, and our daily guest is hungry."
The baboons are large and they're highly intelligent, making them hard to keep away. Mayor of Helli, Ali Al-Qarni explained that the animals come around in the winter to look for food and drink while they migrate away in the summer.
The baboons often hang around the village due to weekly markets where vendors leave vegetables and fruits out to rot. The houses that the animals targeted were near this market.
To try to address the issue, some have tried to poison the baboons by adding poison to bananas. However the baboons figured this out and stopped eating them.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
