(Newser) – The vineyards and houses of one of South Africa's poshest suburbs are under siege—by groups of marauding Cape Baboons, who feast on sauvignon blanc grapes fermenting in the sun and terrorize locals. One troop of baboons recently broke into a family home in the Cape Town suburb and traumatized a child by surrounding him and pelting him with fruit. Others have killed a Great Dane and trashed roofs, fences, orchards and gardens, the Telegraph reports.



"Lunch parties in the garden are now just impossible," one homeowner lamented. Stick-banging, plastic snakes, and even vuvuzela blasts have failed to ward off the creatures, and many families are decamping for other suburbs to escape the baboons. In a concession to angry homeowners, authorities have implemented a "three strikes" policy to destroy especially troublesome baboons, despite the animals' protected status.

(Read more baboon stories.)

