Stop complaining about animals - they're part of African life Very often the same people have already complained about the existence of the monkeys which, although cute in appearance and charming to watch from a distance, can create havoc in seconds if a door is inadvertently left open in the absence of an owner. It usually only takes one of these visitations for newcomers to learn to shut doors behind them. A battle of intellects sometimes ensues, and homo sapiens is not always the winner. The cunning, patience and mechanical aptitudes of the vervet monkey can only be admired. Their charming, inquisitive faces and tiny, pretty babies melt the hearts of many residents, but when a troop of 30 or so come tumbling through the trees and into a garden, taking a quick detour through the kitchen, the charm can quickly fade. These situations are aggravated by those who put out food for the eagles or monkeys, in the mistaken belief that they are helping these creatures, when in fact they are disturbing the balance of nature. Cars take their toll on the monkey troops and disturb the balance even further. Regrettably it seems that all too often, man has only one way of dealing with his fellow creatures, and that is to kill anything that moves. The rhinoceros, the elephant, the crowned eagle and the vervet monkey are among the thousands of species that seem doomed to eventual extinction, leaving the world full of cats and Jack Russells. The "problem" animals are among the most divisive topics in the community. The conservation lobby is powerful, and teams of volunteers willingly give their time to restoring open spaces to some semblance of their original state. Others monitor the progress and breeding of the eagles, whose young stay in the nest and are fed by the parents for up to 11 months, thus breeding only every two years. The eagles are true partners and make lifelong attachments, breeding in the same nest for their lifetime. They also make good copy for the newspapers and tourist-orientated magazines, whose pages are often graced with photos recording the progress of this year's young eagles or wide-eyed and appealing monkeys. We can be thankful that our local species is not of the size and destructive power of the chacma baboon that inhabits more mountainous regions. The male of this species, when fully-grown, is a formidable creature and confrontational situations are to be avoided at all cost. In some places urban development has encroached so deeply into their ancient territories that a continuous battle for space exists and frequently there are casualties on both sides. A fuller understanding of the devastating effects of human encroachment into the habitats of our fellow creatures, and a greater awareness of the complicated interlocking structure of one species with another, is now becoming more apparent. New discoveries regarding species are happening all the time - only recently, the development of smaller and more powerful radio tracking devices helped solved the mystery of the tiny bar-tailed godwit, that flies 11,000 kilometres non-stop. The small dogs and the eagle, the monkeys and the cars are interactions that are not going to disappear. It is to be hoped that tolerance and understanding on the one side will allow the sharing of space with the other.