Cape Town , South Africa ( CNN ) -- As natural habitats disappear in South Africa , baboons and humans are increasingly coming into close contact , and conflict . In South Africa 's Cape Peninsula there has been a large-scale transformation of wild baboons ' natural habitat into land for housing , industry and agriculture , according to the University of Cape Town Baboon Research Unit . The result is that wild baboons are surrounded by humans , which the researchers say is causing human-baboon conflict to escalate . But the problem is n't confined only to the Cape , as baboons are increasingly venturing into towns and villages across southern Africa in search of food , often leaving a trail of damage in their wake . In the farming village of Barrydale , a four-hour drive from Cape Town , baboons are a growing problem . While some local farmers say they want to shoot baboons found in the village , others favor a more sustainable solution . Report : Central African gorillas may go extinct . Jenny Trethowan , of advocacy group Baboon Matters , is known as the `` Baboon Lady '' back in Cape Town . She has spent her career trying to protect the primates in the Cape Peninsula , of which there are more than 400 . In Barrydale , she sees an opportunity to tackle the problem before it gets out of hand . `` What is so exciting about the Barrydale scenario is the fact that they are being extremely proactive , '' Trethowan told CNN . `` In many of the other areas it 's been a long time , where baboons have become habituated and trained . Now in Barrydale they are saying 'let 's stop this behavior quickly before it gets started , ' and that 's enormously exciting for me . '' Trethowan has pinned her hopes on implementing a baboon-monitoring program in the village . At the Joshua Baboon Rehabilitation Project , just outside Barrydale , Baboon Matters is training locals to be baboon monitors . The monitors are tasked with patrolling Barrydale and herding baboons away from homes and farms . `` If we can get the monitoring program going quickly before the baboons are habituated I believe we stand a good chance of success here , '' said Trethowan . Nola Frazier runs the Joshua Baboon Rehabilitation Project and supports the village 's monitoring program . `` I do n't think the baboon problem is going to go away , '' Frazier told CNN . `` It 's a learning curve . It 's something that 's happening here ; it 's happening all over South Africa . '' An existing monitoring program on the Cape is yielding benefits . Statistics from the Baboon Research Unit show human-induced injuries to baboons are at their lowest for five years . Deaths are also down , and the baboon population is up , which means encounters with humans are more likely . African football academy creates future stars . When she 's not helping to run monitoring programs , Trethowan takes tourists on walks around the Cape Peninsula to see baboons in what she hopes will be their natural habitat . But despite the monitors ' best efforts , the baboons sometimes stray from their natural environment . The smell of cooking , and windows left open , are practically an invitation to hungry baboons , whose food raids can result in damage to property . `` When I take people to walk , I never describe baboons as something they are not , '' said Trethowan . `` They do cause incredible damage , and the ideal thing would be for them to be on the mountain and not in the village . `` The monitors can struggle without a doubt . What 's frustrating to me is to see the residents make little effort to help the monitors . If they were working with the monitors more , the monitors would be more efficient . '' When it comes to taking on one of the continent 's most opportunistic animals , researchers and advocates say there are no easy answers . `` Baboons are definitely incredibly opportunistic and incredibly adaptable , so from a management point of view it makes it incredibly difficult , '' said Trethowan . But she said it 's these same characteristics that drew her into a life of advocacy for baboons . `` It is hugely amazing to watch how these baboons will adapt to a situation and will seize an opportunity and work with whatever they 've got , '' she told CNN . `` I think we 've got a lot to learn from them , in hopes of showing more people the positives in an animal so often labeled a problem . '' Robyn Curnow and Mark Tutton contributed to this report .
Disappearing natural habitats are causing conflict between baboons and humans . Baboons raid towns and villages in search of food . Baboon Matters organizes teams of monitors to herd baboons away from villages . Monitoring programs can reduce human-induced injuries to baboons .