Urban Wildlife Management and Care: Chacma Baboons, Cape Fur Seals, Whales and African Penguins on the Cape Peninsula

Letter to Tourism Operators by Spatial Planning and Environmental Management Department, City of Cape Town - 19 June 2026

Dear Tourism Operators

We have a very rich and diverse wildlife population in Cape Town, and we recognise that viewing and experiencing this wildlife is an important activity for the tourism economy and for the visitor experience.

However, we are increasingly concerned about reports of illegal interactions taking place with four specific species, namely the Chacma Baboon, Cape Fur Seals, various whale species and the African Penguin.

Chacma Baboons
We have received multiple complaints of tour operators on the Cape Peninsula:

• Throwing food to baboons so that they come closer to tour busses and vehicles allowing the tourists to get better photographs and closer experiences of baboons, and
• Driving up to and in some cases into the middle of baboon troops so that tourists get better photographs and closer experiences of baboons.

Complaints of tour operators feeding and harassing baboons have been received from the Seaforth, Millers Point, Smitswinkel, Plateau Road and Witzand Road areas. These actions result in poor outcomes for the baboons (habituation, aggression and health impacts) and are illegal in terms of the Cape Nature Conservation Laws Amendment Act, 2000 (Ordinance 19 of 1974) and the City of Cape Town’s Coastal Bylaw. 

As part of the new Baboon Waste Management Plan we will also be trialling “no-bin zones” in the public road lay-byes and coastal areas in the deep south from Murdoch Valley through to Kommetjie. We would like to request your support for this approach that will be rolled out from July 2026 and ask that you brief your guides and clients to please keep any litter on their personor in their vehicles to dispose of at the end of their trip.

Cape Fur Seals
At Hout Bay Harbour specifically, and at times at Kalk Bay Harbour, tourists are exposed to individual seals that are actively fed by some locals to attract and habituate them for the purpose of allowing photographs and close encounters with these seals for a fee. Seal feeding, habituation and purposefully coming within 5m of a seal is illegal in terms of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (the NEM:BA), (Act 10 of 2004) Threatened or Protected Marine Species Regulations, as well as the Coastal Bylaw. Participating in or paying any seal feeder is in itself an illegal activity.

Whale Viewing
We have seen a marked increase in whale viewing being offered from vessels and undertaken by operators that do not have a valid Boat Based Whale Watching operators permit. In terms of the NEMBA Threatened or Protected Marine Species Regulations, any vessel that takes tourists to view whales must have a valid Boat Based Whale Watching operators permit to approach and be within 300m of any of the whale species along our shoreline. 

African Penguins
The Simons Town African Penguin Colony with Boulders Beach at its core is critical to the long-term survival prospects of this species. We would request that you ask and advise all your clients and tourists to enjoy seeing these beautiful creatures but to please make every effort to avoid harassing or disturbing them and to stay further than 3m away from individual birds.

Our request to tourism operators
This letter serves to request the active partnership and support of all tourist companies and independent tour operators operating in Cape Town in promoting responsible wildlife tourism, adherence to environmental legislation, and to protect and respect our urban and marine wildlife. 

Our hope is that the tourism sector will ensure that all guides and drivers are informed of the need to contribute to the protection and management of our wildlife as well as the applicable legislation and penalties.

Moving forward we will be actively increasing our efforts in pursuing any company that fails to comply with the NEMBA, the Nature Conservation Ordinance and the Coastal Bylaw as it relates to wildlife and specifically Chacma Baboons, Cape Fur Seals and all whale species.

We would be grateful for your support in managing our rich and diverse urban wildlife.

Gregg Oelofse
Manager: Coastal Management
City of Cape Town