Cameroon woman shocks netizens, terms Lake Nakuru baboons a 'delicacy'
Baboons from Lake Nakuru National Park repeatedly invade homes near the park.
Only in Nakuru can a casual drive past Lake Nakuru National Park turn into an international meat debate on the internet.
I’ll explain. You see residents next to the park are used to interacting with baboons even at their door step.
Classic Nakuru stuff.
However this came as a culture shock for a Cameroonian tourist who otherwise saw the baboons (which she referred to as monkeys) as plenty of meat if she was back home.
In a video that’s been doing rounds on TikTok, @Nessafantasy is seen reacting in shock not because of the baboons themselves, but because no one is eating them.
“In Cameroon, that’s sweet meat!” she says with zero hesitation.
She explains the shock of seeing residents feeding the baboons with corn and the animals roaming freely outside the park.
“You feed monkeys? We would cook them, make soup, and eat happily. Very delicious," she says before bursting into laughter.
She even added a warning for future visitors: “If you are Kenyan and you visit a Cameroonian home, always ask, which meat is this? You might just be enjoying monkey meat without knowing," she says
Haiya!
Here in Nakuru, residents see the baboon as a nuisance but pale Cameroon unaeza shika quarter ya monkeys, choma.
To confirm we are not the ones missing out on “delicacies,” we spoke to Lake Nakuru National Park Community Warden, Joyce Kurui on a phone call interview.
Her response? A mix of laughter and legal facts.
“It is not our culture to eat monkeys. That's more of a West African thing,” she states
And beyond culture, Kenyan law prohibits hunting of wildlife, even a sneaky baboon that makes its way to your door step.
"If a person is found hunting a species that is not critically endangered in Kenya you will be charged a minimum fine of Sh 30,000 or six months’ minimum imprisonment," Kurui explains.
She also gave a serious warning: wild animals carry zoonotic diseases.
“No one is out here vaccinating baboons. Even if one shows up in your compound, don’t get ideas. They can transmit zoonotic diseases. Just by hunting them you could end up sick, or in court, or both," she notes.
So yes, while our Cameroonian friends might look at monkeys and see lunch, in Nakuru just continue seeing them as a tourist attraction, but definitely not nyama ya weekend.