Baboon
(Gelada)
Order: Primates Family:Cercopithecidae Genus & Species:Papio hamadryas
Habitat
The gelada occupies a very unusual habitat for a monkey. The steep side of gorges
among the open, uplands of the Ethiopian highlands at altitudes of 2000 to 4000m.
The climate is mostly cool with heavy rainfall from June to September and very little at
other times. Mainly only grasses and stunted vegetation can survive the cold nights and
periods of drought. Here the gelada climbs among the rocks, seeking out high ledges
and crevices for safe sleeping or refuge sites.
| Behaviour Gelada baboons are highly sociable animals. They form bands of 50 to 400 monkeys, (occasionally up to 1,000 may band together) and they move and forage together in loose association. Two types of groups exist within each band: breeding units and all male units. The breeding unit comprises a mature male and several adult females, with offspring of various ages. Non breeding males live in all male units of about eight baboons. |
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Breeding
Breeding is confined to the mixed unit within the band, with dominant males commanding the
sole right to mate with the females in their harem. Mating itself usually takes
place only after the male and female have indulged in a long bout of mutual grooming.
Most of the births observed in the wild take place in February, March and April.
The female gives birth to a single infant (twins appear only rarely), which she clutches t
her chast while travelling. After a few weeks the infant is agile enough to ride
about on her back like a jockey. It can take up to eight years for a male to be
strong enough to vie for a breeding role while females are able to breed in half that
time.
What they eat
The gelada is almost totally dependent on grass. Other sources of food such as
acacia leaves, cultivated seed crops and fruit, represent only about five percent of its
diet. Shortly after dawn, the geladas leave their rocky gorges and clamber up onto
oprn grassland to graze. Since the food they eat is of such a low quality, they must
forage all day to meet their energy requirements. Geladas gain most of their water
from their food but will drink when the opportunity arises.
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Creature comparisons In some central Ethiopian valleys the gelada feed alongside a distant relative, the Hamadryas baboon. Although they are similar in build, the two species are easily distinguished. Hamadryas baboons have paler, silvery hair and red faces, and their nostrils open much lower down on the snout. Both species have buttock pads, but those of the Hamadryas baboon are an eye catching red, while those of the gelada baboon are a sombre black. |
(Hamadrayas)
Order: Primates Family: Cercopithecidae Genus & Species: Papio hamadryas
| Habitat The hamadryas baboon lives in scattered clans in the virtually treeless landscapes of northeastern Africa and southern Arabia. Crags and rock strewn slopes offer the baboon a safe refuge ar night, while the scrub and grassland in the lowlands provide it with just enough food to survive. In the dry season when seeds and fruits are scarce, the baboon survives by uprooting grass and tubers. The clans will travel 6 to 20 km per day, or further in dry season, in search of new feeding grounds. As suitable sleeping cliffs are scarce several clans often club together at susk to form a single troop of more than a hundred baboons. |
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Helping Hands. Clan members of all ages reinforce their kinship with bouts of mutual grooming. |
Behaviour
The hamadryas baboon's societies are organized around groups of related males.
Instead of dispersing when they reach sexual maturity, young males remain in the clan
dominated by their fathers.Most of the adult clansmen guard a family of 2 to 10 females
and their offspring, whereas the young males are merely followers at first. The
followers acquire a harem of their own when male relatives die. Alternatively the
younger baboons win females by fighting elderly males from other clans and seizing their
harems by force.
What they eat
The hamadrayas teeth are adapted for grinding vegetable foods such as fruit and seeds,
when possible, but they also feed on grass, fleshy roots and bulbs, supplementing this
diet with insects and small animals. The males canine teeth serve only to establish
his dominance in the clan. As the grasslands of Africa are the hunting grounds of
many predators, the hamadrayas baboon has developed a way of storing food until it can
process it at a safer place. While feeding the baboon rests on both feet and one
hand. It uses the other hand to pluck food and then stuffs it into its cheek pouches
which can hold as much food as its stomach. When the pouches are full, it simply
squeezes the food back into its mouth to chew and swallow.