KARACHI: A family of three baboons rescued from a pet shop in Clifton was shifted to the zoo on Monday, wildlife department officials told Dawn.

The species was identified as olive baboons.

“Since it’s an exotic species apparently raised in captivity, the best option for us was to shift them either to the zoo or Safari Park,” said Sindh Wildlife Conservator Javed Mahar, adding that the baboon family comprised a male, a female and a baby.

The department had conducted a raid after getting information about the baboons’ presence at a Clifton shop from social media. The pet shop owner had claimed that the animals were “gifted” to him, which he had kept in small cages on his premises.

Asked about the action taken against the pet shop owner, Mr Mahar said he was released with a warning “as the seizure of the property valued from Rs200,000 to Rs300,000 was considered as a penalty”.

The olive baboon (Papio anubis), also called the Anubis baboon, is a member of the Cerocpithecidae family. The olive baboon is named for its coat, which, from a distance, appears as a shade of green-grey.

“The department provided him an opportunity to explain and he admitted his mistake in the presence of staff. We had an option to cancel his permit for captive-bred birds but decided to regulate his behaviour so that he could continue to support his family.”

About the illegal online animal trade, he said he had personally investigated several cases pertaining to online animal trade and in a majority of the cases the information was found baseless.

The olive baboon is listed as “least concern” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as “this species is very widespread and abundant and, although persecuted as a crop raider, there are no major threats believed to be resulting in a range-wide population decline.”

They are found throughout equatorial Africa and in about 25 countries.

According to information available on the internet, a major reason for its widespread success is that the olive baboon is not bound to a specific food source. It is omnivorous, finding nutrition in almost any environment, and able to adopt different foraging tactics.

Published in Dawn, March 3rd, 2020