Weird But True

Hard-partying baboons crash woman’s birthday getaway in viral video: ‘I’m traumatized’

These uninvited houseguests were real party animals

Helping themselves to shots of hard liquor, a freshly cooked brunch spread and several bags of chips, a pair of bold baboons broke into a woman’s rental home in Knysna, South Africa, and nearly destroyed her birthday breakfast celebration.  

“Baboons just came inside our house, ate our avocados we were making for breakfast and drank our Hennessy,” Esethu Zoe Williams exclaimed in a now-viral tweet on Saturday. She then shared footage of the hairy intruders monkeying around in her Airbnb’s kitchen. 

“I’m traumatized,” Williams confessed in a subsequent tweet, which scared up more than 84,000 likes. The post featured a video of a primate hopping from counter to counter, popping open bags of chips while she and her screaming friends cowered in fear. 

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The AirBnB property featured an outdoor patio, where Williams and her friends found one baboon enjoying a glass of brandy.
The Airbnb property features an outdoor patio, where Williams and her friends found one baboon enjoying a glass of brandy. AirBnB
In the viral video-tweet one baboon is seen jumping around the kitchen, tearing open bags of snacks.
In the viral video, one baboon is seen jumping around the kitchen, tearing open bags of snacks. Esethu Zoe Williams via Storyful
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Williams revealed that she and her pals were able to scare the baboons away by charging towards them.
Williams revealed that she and her pals were able to scare the baboons away by charging toward them.Esethu Zoe Williams via Storyful
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In a separate clip, with over 291,000 views, one of the badass baboons is scene guzzling glasses of brandy that were left outside on the patio of the property as Williams and her pals watch from a window. 

“It finished an entire glass and almost left with the empty glass,” she tweeted. 

And Williams’ more than 4,000 Twitter followers, most of whom were sympathetic, found great humor in her monkey house of horrors. 

Life is hard everywhere. They needed that alcohol break,” commented one user, amused by the baboon’s unabashed swig of Hennessy. 

Esethu Zoe Williams (inset) went viral on Twitter after revealing that her AirBnB rental home in South Africa had been invaded by Hennessy-drinking baboons.
Esethu Zoe Williams (inset) went viral on Twitter after revealing that her Airbnb rental home in South Africa had been invaded by Hennessy-drinking baboons. Esethu Zoe Williams via Storyful

“Someone said these things are human beings but pretend as if they can’t speak just to avoid paying taxes. Drinking Hennessy?” joked another, adding a series of laughing emoji for emphasis. 

Others shared their own unexpected encounters with apes while on vacation. 

“A monkey came to our table on the patio and took our château gateaux cake in Zimbali, I havent healed,” one commentator revealed. 

In a statement to Storyful, Williams revealed that the jungle-dwelling trespassers strolled into her rented abode after she and her friends forgot to close the door behind them. 

“We had mistakenly left the door open while making breakfast when two baboons entered,” said Williams. “They ate eggs, avocado and bread before proceeding to pop the snacks.”

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On Twitter, Williams admitted that the entire ordeal left her "traumatized."
On Twitter, Williams admitted that the entire ordeal left her “traumatized.”Twitter / @MsWilliamsss
After the baboons fled the scene, Williams shared footage of herself and her friends enjoying their breakfast.
After the baboons fled the scene, Williams shared footage of herself and her friends enjoying their breakfast.Twitter / @MsWilliamsss
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Luckily, she and her party managed to give the baboons the boot and resumed their birthday brunch festivities. 

“We eventually got them out by screaming and charging towards [them],” Williams added. “When they were outside, they drank the liquor that had been left there from the previous day.”

And once the monkeys fled, she and her friends enjoyed a scenic meal outdoors. 

“Restored,” she captioned a video showcasing their seaside, monkey-free breakfast.