Kenya Olive Baboon

Olive Baboon in Kenya Safari

Scientific Name: Olive baboon (Papiocynocephalus anubis); yellow baboon (Papio ynocephalus cynocephalus).An omnivorous savannah and woodland primate dweller with ways about 50 kilogram's , with a gestation of 6 months and a lifespan of about 20-30 years .The baboon, of all the primates in East Africa, most frequently interacts with people. Apart from humans, baboons are the most adaptable of the ground-dwelling primates and live in a wide variety of habitats.

Intelligent and crafty, The two most common baboons occur in East Africa, the olive baboon and the yellow baboon. The larger and darker olive baboon is found in Uganda, west and central Kenya and northern Tanzania. Smaller, more slender and lighter in color, the yellow baboon inhabits southern and coastal Kenya and Tanzania. Both types are "dogfaced," but the yellow's nose turns up more than the olive's. Baboons are found in surprisingly varied habitats and are extremely adaptable.

The major requirements for any habitat seem to be water sources and safe sleeping places in either tall trees or on cliff faces. Baboons usually leave their sleeping places around 7 or 8 a.m. After coming down from the cliffs or trees, adults sit in small groups grooming each other while the juveniles play. They then form a cohesive unit that moves off in a column of two or three, walking until they begin feeding. Fanning out, they feed as they move along, often traveling five or six miles a day.

They forage for about three hours in the morning, rest during the heat of the day and then forage again in the afternoon before returning to their sleeping places by about 6 p.m. Baboons sleep, travel, feed and socialize together in groups of about 50 individuals, consisting of seven to eight males and approximately twice as many females plus their young.

Olive baboon, Kenya

These family units of females, juveniles and infants form the stable core of a troop, with a ranking system that elevates certain females as leaders.A troop's home range is well-defined but does not appear to have territorial borders. When they begin to mature, males leave their natal troops and move in and out of other troops. Frequent fights break out to determine dominance over access to females or meat.

The ranking of these males constantly changes during this period. Males are accepted into new troops slowly, usually by developing "friendships" with different females around the edge of a troop. Baboons are opportunistic omnivores and selective feeders. Grass makes up a large part of their diet, along with berries, seeds, pods, blossoms, leaves, roots, bark and sap from a variety of plants.

Baboons also eat insects and small quantities of meat, such as fish, shellfish, hares, birds, vervet monkeys, and small antelopes. Nearly one-half the size of adult males, females lack the male's ruff (long hairs around the neck), but otherwise they are similar in appearance. Baboons use over 30 vocalizations ranging from grunts to barks to screams. Nonvocal gestures include yawns, lip smacking and shoulder shrugging.

JBA - Kenya Safari