Hamadryas baboon
The Hamadryas baboon is the smallest species among baboons, distinguished by its unique physical characteristics and social structure. Males are notable for their striking silver-colored coats, which they may lose if they no longer lead a harem, adopting a brown coat similar to that of females. These baboons possess distinctive reddish-brown faces that slope downwards, and they have hard, furless sitting pads on their rumps that provide comfort while sitting. Adult females typically weigh 20 to 25 pounds, while males can weigh up to 45 pounds, with heights ranging from 1.5 to just over 2 feet.
Hamadryas baboons inhabit rocky deserts and grassy regions in eastern Ethiopia, northern Somalia, Saudi Arabia, and South Yemen. They are social animals that live in groups led by a male, accompanied by several females. Their diet mainly consists of fruits, but they adapt to available food sources, including grasses and insects. The species has a year-round breeding season with a gestation period of approximately 170 days, resulting in the birth of a single young that is nurtured for up to 15 months. Hamadryas baboons face natural threats from predators like leopards and Verreaux's eagles, and their lifespan averages around 20 years in the wild and 31 years in captivity.
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Hamadryas baboon
Hamadryas baboons are large monkeys but the smallest of the baboon species. When an old male baboon loses his harem, he may lose his silver-colored coat and grow a brown coat like the females.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Family: Cercopothecidae
Genus: Papio
Species: Hamadryas
Hamadryas baboons look much like the baboons often seen in zoos. The females and young have brown coats, while the dominant male has a coat of silver-colored fur. Hamadryas baboons do not have fur on their faces. Their faces are reddish brown and slope downward with their noses and mouths at the end of their large, broad snouts. Hamadryas baboons also have bright red, furless, hard sitting pads on the lower part of their rumps. These pads help them sit comfortably. Adult females sit 1 1/2 to nearly 2 feet (about half a meter) tall, and males sit 1 1/2 to just over 2 feet (1/2 to 2/3 meters). Female hamadryas baboons weigh about 20 to 25 pounds (9 to 11 kilograms), while males weigh 40 to 45 pounds (18 to 20 kilograms).
Hamadryas baboons live in rocky deserts and grassy areas of eastern Ethiopia, northern Somalia, Saudi Arabia, and South Yemen. They form social groups with male leaders divided into smaller bands. These bands have one male leader and up to 10 females.
Hamadryas baboons usually travel in small groups looking for food. They mainly eat the fruits from bushes and trees. If fruit is unavailable, they eat grasses, roots, flowers, insects, lizards, snails, and sometimes young gazelles and hares.
The breeding season for hamadryas baboons is year round. The gestation period (duration of pregnancy) is about 170 days. Female hamadryas baboons then give birth to one young. The mother will nurse the young for 6 to 15 months. The young baboons, especially females, stay with the family group.
The main predators of hamadryas baboons are leopards and Verreaux's eagles. When a leopard approaches, the baboon may try to run away.
The hamadryas baboon has a life span of 20 years in the wild and 31 years in captivity.
Bibliography
"Hamadryas Baboon." San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/hamadryas-baboon. Accessed 20 Mar. 2024.
Shefferly, Nancy. "Papio Hamadryas." Animal Diversity Web, animaldiversity.org/accounts/Papio‗hamadryas. Accessed 20 Mar. 2024.