Dinosaur
AH veteran
When visiting my uncle in Kenya in the 80's I asked him, "Why do you have all the iron bars, security grilling, on the house windows, and I mentioned were there a lot of thieves in the area? As the terrorists should no longer be an issue.
His response was damned bloody monkeys, they break into the houses and other out buildings, and destroy, and defecate everywhere. Well after hearing that, and other stories, I have learnt that there is one thing worse than humans, 'Monkeys'.
My mother had a pet monkey at her farm at Thika, used to always get a thrill of tearing up a tree when she had visitors and would piss and defecate on her visitors heads, funny if you are not the victim.
Now that my mother is a lot older, now living in Australia , she has made pets of brush-tail possums. They too have a similar habit. If you are having a Barbecue after dark under the huge mango tree. You have a mouth of food, then the next bite , your food, or beverage has a totally different flavour
One of my grandfather's stories that he always used to entertain my friends with was a true account about his brother (my great uncle). When he was a lad in Kenya in the early 1900's he used to work for an old Boer Farmer whom had vision problems with his eye sight. Well, as most farmers who farm maize/corn will know, baboons love corn crops, and will destroy nearly the entire crop during their feeding sprees. Baboons are so greedy, like monkeys, they will keep on picking, or taking away anything of interest.
They would start picking a corn cob, then grab another, and even shove another under their arm, and take a bite out another, and just keep on going on, and on. Well the old Boer farmer had enough of the damned things, grabbed his big bore double barrel rifle, and headed out with my 'then young' great uncle to hunt them down.
There were large termite mounds dotted every now, and there, through the maize crop, on which the baboons would post their Askaris to keep an eye out for humans. Hours later with no success, the baboons were giving them a merry chase around the crop in the stinking hot midday African sun.
The old Boer farmer was furious by then, when suddenly he noticed a huge baboon squatting looking at him intensely on the top of the nearest termite mound. Well, the old Boer took the shot, both barrels firing simultaneously , the baboon copping it dead in the chest, blew backwards off the termite mound. Success, thought the Boer with a huge proud grin on his face.
Well, that was until my great uncle went to check out the trophy,........... it was an African !
In all seriousness I never had the chance to meet my great uncle before he died, so I do not know what happened to the Boer Farmer, as it was in Kenya, not South Africa, the British Kenyan Government would have taken the subject extremely seriously.
I have a another relation whom married in to my family, he served in the Kings African Rifles during the early colonization period of Kenya, whom had a bit of a reputation, you either loved him, or hated him, going by historical books. Either way, his dog was killed by a troop of baboons whom captured the dog, and tore it to pieces while eating it in front of my uncle.
Traumatized, my relative collected his African troop and wiped out the entire baboon troop, and I wouldn't be surprised if he really cudgelled them with his knobkerrie, but I don't think he had one at that period.
Regards
Rob
His response was damned bloody monkeys, they break into the houses and other out buildings, and destroy, and defecate everywhere. Well after hearing that, and other stories, I have learnt that there is one thing worse than humans, 'Monkeys'.
My mother had a pet monkey at her farm at Thika, used to always get a thrill of tearing up a tree when she had visitors and would piss and defecate on her visitors heads, funny if you are not the victim.
Now that my mother is a lot older, now living in Australia , she has made pets of brush-tail possums. They too have a similar habit. If you are having a Barbecue after dark under the huge mango tree. You have a mouth of food, then the next bite , your food, or beverage has a totally different flavour
One of my grandfather's stories that he always used to entertain my friends with was a true account about his brother (my great uncle). When he was a lad in Kenya in the early 1900's he used to work for an old Boer Farmer whom had vision problems with his eye sight. Well, as most farmers who farm maize/corn will know, baboons love corn crops, and will destroy nearly the entire crop during their feeding sprees. Baboons are so greedy, like monkeys, they will keep on picking, or taking away anything of interest.
They would start picking a corn cob, then grab another, and even shove another under their arm, and take a bite out another, and just keep on going on, and on. Well the old Boer farmer had enough of the damned things, grabbed his big bore double barrel rifle, and headed out with my 'then young' great uncle to hunt them down.
There were large termite mounds dotted every now, and there, through the maize crop, on which the baboons would post their Askaris to keep an eye out for humans. Hours later with no success, the baboons were giving them a merry chase around the crop in the stinking hot midday African sun.
The old Boer farmer was furious by then, when suddenly he noticed a huge baboon squatting looking at him intensely on the top of the nearest termite mound. Well, the old Boer took the shot, both barrels firing simultaneously , the baboon copping it dead in the chest, blew backwards off the termite mound. Success, thought the Boer with a huge proud grin on his face.
Well, that was until my great uncle went to check out the trophy,........... it was an African !
In all seriousness I never had the chance to meet my great uncle before he died, so I do not know what happened to the Boer Farmer, as it was in Kenya, not South Africa, the British Kenyan Government would have taken the subject extremely seriously.
I have a another relation whom married in to my family, he served in the Kings African Rifles during the early colonization period of Kenya, whom had a bit of a reputation, you either loved him, or hated him, going by historical books. Either way, his dog was killed by a troop of baboons whom captured the dog, and tore it to pieces while eating it in front of my uncle.
Traumatized, my relative collected his African troop and wiped out the entire baboon troop, and I wouldn't be surprised if he really cudgelled them with his knobkerrie, but I don't think he had one at that period.
Regards
Rob
