She is not just a pet but a sister I never had.

She is a protector – a living threat woven into his childhood and adulthood, said Ruben Lambrechts about Cindy, his pet baboon.

“From the moment Cindy the baboon joined our family, she was one of us: playing in the yard, teasing and tumbling like any mischievous sibling would. For over three decades, she has been more than an animal companion,” said the safari operator.

His surroundings complement his love for animals.

 He lives on a family farm about 60 kilometres west of Windhoek in the Khomas Hochland region.

“I am a part-time cattle farmer and safari operator. The wildlife seen in my videos on social media are orphaned animals. Farmers and people who find them without their mothers give them to us,” said the passionate conservationist.

Some different animals that are usually seen in his clips include meerkats, mongooses, warthogs, black wallabies and baboons, including Cindy.

“From time to time, I find myself wondering where the years have taken us… How swiftly they have flown by. It feels like just yesterday my brother and I were toddlers, playing on the lawn without a care in the world – always with our sister Cindy by our side,” said the 27-year-old.

He said, as the years passed and they started maturing, Cindy was and has always been there. 

They teased her a lot and played like wild things, pushing boundaries the way children do. 

“And when we went too far, she’d discipline us just like a baboon mother would in the wild with their young – a sharp little bite to put us in our place. 

“I remember moments when I cried with tears running down my face after some “discipline” from her. She’d just sit there quietly, watching me with soft eyes full of concern. You could tell she felt sorry. And suddenly, she would start grooming us, which is her way of saying sorry. She has some incredible emotional intelligence,” he recalled.

The explorer added that now, Cindy is almost 31 years old, visually impaired and slower. 

She is quieter, and roles have shifted – they are now the ones taking care of her.

“But this is the gift and heartbreak of loving animals. They don’t stay forever. So, we love them harder and deeper while they’re here. After all, Cindy isn’t just a baboon. She’s part of the family,” he said.

Lambrechts feels the need for the next generations to be able to see wildlife like rhinos and cheetahs that are endangered by preserving them so that more value can be created out of this precious resource to ultimately contribute greatly to the economy. 

–psiririka@nepc.com.na