Savanna Baboon: Papio cyncephalus
Subspecies:
- Olive baboon: P. c. anubis
- Yellow baboon: P.c. cynocephalus
- Guinea baboon: P. c. papio
- Chacma baboon: P.c. ursinus
Characteristics
Weight and Height
males: wt 59-97 lb (27-44 kg), hbl 29 in (72.5 cm)
females: wt 31-37 lb (14-17 kg), hbl 24 in (60 cm)
Color
olive-, yellow-, reddish-, or greenish brown; dark limbs, black nose, lips, ears, hands and feet; fur is often shiny with an almost purple tint.
General Location
Found throughout savanna and arid zone, the savanna baboon is quite abundant wherever water and safe sleeping places occur. In recent years, the destruction of forests, agricultural expansion, and extinction of predators has allowed the baboon to live in areas which, in the past, have not been suitable.
The savanna baboon can be seen in the following National Parks and Reserves: Most abundant in Manyara NP, Tanzania, however the baboon can be seen in almost any NP or Reserve.
Habitat
The baboon can easily search for food on the ground and equally as well in trees which means that it has a great advantage over other African mammals. The baboon is not water-dependent, but certainly needs to drink on a fairly regular basis. When water is not easily accessible, the baboon can either dig for water in dry streambeds or quench its thirst by eating foods that absorb a lot of moisture.
The baboon's diet consists of tubers, roots, bulbs, leaves, flowers, buds, seeds, aquatic plants, mushrooms, shoots, twigs, bark, fruits, and sap.
During the dry season(s), the baboon can easily dig nutritious corms and rhizomes out of the dirt beneath the dry grasses which means that food sources are abundant almost year-round.
Activity
The savanna baboon is strictly a diurnal mammal. The daily activity peaks vary from baboon to baboon which makes the baboon a truly unique African animal. On some days, a baboon will start foraging well after dawn and then settles down just before dark. Most baboons will travel approximately 3.7 mi (6 km) daily during the dry season and about 2.8 mi (4.5 km) drying the wet season. Baboons are unique because members of a troop will have a fairly similar schedule, and basically stay into contact with each other throughout the day.
Social Systems
A baboon troop is one of the most unique societies in the animal kingdom. Relations are often determined based on several factors such as: gender, the dominance hierarchy, and male-female and male-male alliances.
Baboon troops can be as small as 8 and as large as 200 animals, however a typical troop size is generally 30 to 40 members. In most troops, adult females will outnumber adult males 2-3 to 1. A troop's range can be from 988 to 9880 acres (400-4000 ha), easily overlapping multiple territories.
In baboon society, it is important for males to foster close bonds with females which means that males will help to take care of young. For example, a male will take part in grooming, feeding, carrying and holding young.
Reproduction
The mating peak is generally during the rainy season, but on the whole, reproduction is nonseasonal. The gestation period is 6 months and births are at 1.5 to 2 year intervals. The typical life span for the baboon is 20 to 30 years.
Predators
Eagles, jackals, lions, spotted hyenas, leopards, and other large carnivores.
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