Long days beneath the hot sun necessitate the option to jump into nice cool water to help relieve the heat. Most animals might take a dip in watering holes, risking the presence of other dangers like hippos and crocodiles.
This troop of baboons hit the jackpot by coming across a clean, fresh pool with no predators lurking to attack them, and no restriction on cooling off and playing some games.
George Whitehead got the footage in Marloth Park, and sent it in to Latest Sightings. The carefree baboons enjoyed their nice safe swim, and George got to enjoy watching them let loose with their games.
Fitting In Some Lengths
At first only one baboon stood at the edge of the pool, cautiously bending low to test the water. It quickly decided that this was something worth diving into, and went headfirst into the pool with a splash.
The sound alerted other young baboons nearby which came running to watch their fellow swimming up and down the pool, and enjoy its attempt to escape once it wanted to dry off.
Once the swimming baboon tried to climb out to join the other members of its troop running around the pool, it quickly found out the hard way that the decking around the pool was slippery when wet, and fell back into the water.
Swimming Frenzy
Clearly not the kind of baboons to pass up a golden opportunity, this group wasted no time in getting stuck in to the party. On a warm day the water must have been a nice way to cool off, or even just fun to splash around in.
The pool itself wasn’t huge, but it was more than big enough for the troop of baboons that were taking advantage of it. One of the baboons even broke out its best swimming strokes to get from one corner to the other, before it found itself being charged by another member of the troop.
Any semblance of reasonably behaved pool-goers quickly dissolved into an exciting game of chase where the various baboons pursued each other around the edges of the pool, pushing each other into the water as a sign of victory.
No Running At The Pool
For this small troop, there was no time for rules as the game took precedent over everything else. If any of the baboons stood still for too long then one of them would give chase and around the pool they went.
One of them had already slipped trying to climb out of the pool, so this time around they were being careful to use all of their fingers and toes to make sure they got extra grip on the surface.
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The Responsible Adult
After a few moments of this game, it appeared that things were starting to wind down as the baboons took a moment to recapture their breath. Of course, this might also have been due to the appearance of an adult from below the pool decking.
Like a stern lifeguard, this adult made its way over to the side of the pool where it sat watching the smaller and younger baboons that had been gleefully cavorting about just moments before.
The other baboons did a remarkable job of pretending that they hadn’t just been pushing each other into the water, and after sitting still for just a few moments they decided to take to the roof of the nearby building instead, where they could continue their game without supervision.
