The owners of a Cape Town flat had the shock of their life when they returned to find that their home had been destroyed by a group of cheeky baboons.
A dozen chacma baboons clambered into a third floor flat after one of their accomplices managed to get the window open.
The baboons raided the cabinets, stole food, ripped off the curtains and even made it off with a teddy bear.
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Cheeky monkeys: The hairy burglars scaled the block of flats' brick walls and raided the property even getting their grubby hands on the curtains
The hairy burglars scaled the block of flats' brick walls and raided the property in Cape Town, South Africa, while its owners were out.
Stunned neighbours and passersby watched in disbelief as the monkeys made off with bedsheets, curtains and the toy after their 30 minute pillage.
One brazen baboon even appeared to use the salmon-coloured curtains as a disguise when they flee the scene of their crime.
It is thought they initially entered the flat looking for food - raiding the fridges and trashing the kitchen.
But it was the big teddy bear that won their affections, as the baboons played with the toy and groomed it like it was another monkey.
Breaking and entering: A group of baboons make their way into a flat in Cape Town which they proceeded to trash completely
Making friends: One of the baboons scales back down the building holding the family's teddy bear
Clever disguise: One of the baboons covered itself in the pink curtains as the group fled the scene with their takings
Cyril Ruoso, from Lailly in Burgundy, France, travelled to Cape Town, South Africa, to take photographs of the famous baboons in the area.
The 43-year-old wildlife photographer and journalist said: ‘At the beginning, only one of the baboons was inside the flat.
‘He opened the wide front windows to the flat with his mouth, and around ten baboons then came into the flat.
‘They were in there for more than half an hour as nobody was able to do anything. The owners were out and nobody had any keys to enter.
‘I am quite used to working with monkeys, but I was amazed. And then when they came out with a blanket, curtains and a giant teddy bear, I was even more astonished.
‘The baboons played with the teddy bear like a kid plays with a doll. They even groomed it like a monkey!’
Havoc: The owners returned to a completely trashed kitchen after the baboons had their way
Mr Ruoso added: ‘It is easy to understand the baboons are looking for food, but they are intelligent and very social animals.
‘Interactions and social behaviours are a big part of their education to become an adult baboon.
‘Play seems to be a very good way for the youngsters to learn how to behave as baboon.
‘They love to be hidden behind leaves and tree trunks in the wild - I have seen that several times.
‘Here, they do the same with new materials, like a blanket or curtains.
‘But the teddy bear used as a doll is much more of a mystery to me, especially because the adult baboons used it too.’
The monkey raids are common in South Africa, where monitoring teams are employed to try to keep the baboons at bay.
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