Enraged baboons smash hikers' legs by pushing 130lb boulder off cliff in all-out assault
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA: Three hikers reportedly sustained broken legs after a freak encounter with a troop of baboons in South Africa. The group of seven was reportedly hiking in the Banhoek Mountains near Stellenbosch last month when they reached the narrow ledge by a waterfall.
Things, however, went awry when they noticed a frenzied troop of baboons above them. The hikers said the wild animals became increasingly "agitated and curious" by their presence. Two hikers managed to rappel down to safety when the monkeys allegedly pushed a massive boulder toward the group.
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Three hikers suffered broken legs
The alleged interspecies battle was detailed in a Facebook post that has since gone viral. “Three hikers all suffered broken legs – after a boulder smashed down a mountain,” read the post by the Western Cape-based Wilderness Search and Rescue team. They said the shocking incident took place last month after the group of hikers embarked on an abseiling expedition in the Banhoek mountains. The trip was reportedly going smoothly until the second day when the hikers stopped for lunch and spotted a troop of Cape baboons on a cliff above them. The species -- which constitutes some of the world's largest monkeys weighing up to 80 pounds and measuring four feet long -- appeared "agitated and curious" by the visitors below them.
'Exploded on impact'
“This was the third time I’ve been down this kloof and the first time I’ve seen or heard any baboons up there,” one of the hikers remarked. The adventurers, however, decided not to bother the animals and continued their descent down the cliff. After two hikers rappeled down a waterfall, the baboons allegedly dislodged a huge 132-pound boulder that struck the ledge the remaining five were standing on.
The massive rock apparently "exploded on impact" and sent shards of “razor-sharp rock” flying onto the hikers like a shrapnel. The explosion ended up breaking legs of three hikers and left another with a flesh wound. Meanwhile, a fifth hiker was nearly knocked over a ledge but was caught mid-fall by his safety harness. That said, the offensive was far from over. The enraged primates allegedly continued to rain stones on the hikers, who were forced to seek shelter in the cliff face.
'Wish them a speedy recovery'
At some point, the hikers managed to make an SOS call despite their remote location. An Air Mercy Service helicopter and a team from the Wilderness Search And Rescue (WSAR) were immediately dispatched. Upon arrival, the rescuers used winches to lower paramedics unto the ledge where the climbers were stuck. The hiker most critically injured was then “packed into a stretcher and flown to a nearby landing zone.”
Whilst, “the remaining two patients were hoisted from the ledge in rescue harnesses.” All three were rushed to the hospital while the four uninjured hikers made their way down the cliff. “We commend the two uninjured hikers for remaining calm and doing a fantastic job caring for the injured and wish them a speedy recovery,” WSAR spokesperson Johann Marais said in a statement, the New York Post reported.