One hot and humid morning, the diners suddenly got excited while having breakfast at a game park in East Africa.
“Did you see the baboons climbing the wall? They went into a room up there!”
Someone else laughed, “Wow, they climbed three stories! That big one found an open window. Oh, no! They’re going into the room!”
The baboons quickly pried open the window and slipped into the room. Nobody knew whose room it was, but someone thought it belonged to two women. I started to feel nervous because I remembered I hadn’t closed our window securely. We had just finished a mission trip in Uganda and were very tired. This was our time to rest, and I had become careless, failing to bolt the window and lock my luggage. I thought, “What could go wrong?”
The guide had warned us earlier, “Stay away from the animals that roam around the hotel. The monkeys and baboons can be aggressive.”
Monkey by Taryn ElliotBut staying away wasn’t possible. The monkeys sat on the backs of chairs in the open dining area, watching guests eat. Sometimes, one would grab food from a guest’s hand and run away, making happy monkey noises.
The Unexpected Invasion: Baboons in the Room
The baboons stayed further away, sitting on the roof and watching people eat in a creepy way. They were smart and knew from experience that the hotel rooms had food. They just needed to find an open window. Unfortunately, the window they found was mine. I could almost imagine them talking:
“Hey, Big Harry, we found an open window. Bring the family and meet me in Room 303!”
Soon, six big baboons were in my room, screeching and fighting over my things.
We were told to stay away until the baboons were gone. Baboons can be very dangerous when upset, and I did not want to get close to them. The brave park staff finally chased them out by making loud noises and waving their arms. They pushed the baboons out through the window instead of through the door where guests were.
When my friend and I went into the room, it was a mess. Clothes and food wrappers were everywhere. The beds and walls had brown footprints on them. Clothes hung from lamps and dressers. Some of my clothes were torn, like they had been part of a tug-of-war.
The Aftermath: Clothes, Smells, and Lessons Learned
“What is that smell?” my roommate asked. “It smells like a sewer!”
When things calmed down, I realized the mud the baboons brought in was mixed with dirty water, mud, and animal poop. My clothes were covered in it. After I got over the shock, I noticed a few things:
The baboons ate all the food in our snack bag except the energy bars. One of them had taken a bite and tossed it aside. The rest were neatly left on the floor. Even baboons won’t eat energy bars!
Snacks by Davner RibeiroOne dress was left untouched. It was not dirty or wrinkled. I like to think a girl baboon was being kind. This dress was the only clean clothing I had for days until we reached a hotel with a laundromat.
My friend’s things were not touched. She had locked her luggage, so the baboons couldn’t open it. They only moved her bags around. When they couldn’t open her bags, they focused on my cheap ones instead. Even if my luggage had been locked, the baboons might still have torn it open. They had destroyed two of my bags by ripping the seams. Only one rolling tote bag remained, though it had damaged wheels.
A baboon liked my fake hairpiece. It seemed like one baboon wanted to take it. He got it to the window but dropped it on his way out. I wondered if any of my clothes ended up at the watering hole, being played with by the baboons.
The Story That Never Ends: The Great Baboon Encounter Lives On
For the next few days, everyone in our group kept telling the story to anyone who would listen. Finally, we reached a hotel with a laundry service. I put my smelly clothes in a bag and left them with the laundry staff.
After a while, a hotel worker came to find me.
“We don’t know what is on your clothes, but we don’t think you will like how they are turning out,” he said. “We are sorry, but we’ll do our best.”
When my clothes were returned, they were all the same dull gray color from being washed in the local water.
“Thank you for your efforts,” I said, trying to stay cheerful. “It does smell much better, and that’s really important to me.”
The worker smiled, happy to hear something positive about the clothes.
The rest of our trip home had its moments, but nothing could top the baboon story. Our missionary group still meets to plan future trips and share memories. At every meeting, I know it won’t take long before someone brings up the story now known as The Great Baboon Encounter.
Claudia Thomason is a pastor, mom, and short-term missionary. Her stories of adventures in Africa range from humorous to heart-touching. Claudia oversees a program providing school fees for children in third world countries. www.reachingkids.org.
