Baboons hijack car on highway in South Africa

baboon

A family ignored warning signs along a highway in South Africa, and ended up being held captive by a band of criminal baboons who ransacked their luggage for food.

The baboons along this South African highway might as well be humans. They know how to open car doors (yes, they know how to use the handle), and they know just how to sift through your belongings so that they find what they're ultimately looking for: food.

After finding and demolishing a pack of cookies in the back seat, mother baboon — who I think at this point had been joined by one or two other baboons — decided to take on my sister's travel bag. We all watched as the baboons sat on the side of the highway and carefully took out every single item in that bag. They tried her toothpaste, took her camera out of its case, but once they found out it wasn't food, they simply put it back in the bag or left it on the ground.

It was somewhat fascinating to watch, but I couldn't really concentrate amid the loud sounds of my sister sobbing in the background. Not that I blamed her; her possessions were in the hands of baboons and we weren't exactly sure if or when we were going to get them back.

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