Following the shooting events, which had significant impacts, the study group continued to make regular use of the dump as a primary food source, despite the regular human presence. Within the dump, the workers would often offer items of food found in refuse sacks to the baboons, creating positive interactions with these humans, thus enhancing the commensal relationship.

The baboons thus appeared to differentiate between their relationships with dump workers and the perceived increased risks from humans in other locations after the shooting events.

This suggests that the impacts of persecution may not be obvious in many contexts without the integration of longer term behavioural and physiological measures, and that the relationships between people and wildlife may be more complex and nuanced than immediately evident.