Hamadryas Baboon

Hamadryas Baboons live in rocky, hilly Ethiopian mountain territories. All baboons, especially the Hamadryas baboons spend more time on the ground than other monkey species. Their extremities are well-built for a lifestyle on the ground, they can run extremely fast.  They climb trees, but don’t stand out with good agility. But as they are very keen of fruits there’s nothing else left than to climb the tree.

Hamadryas baboons spend majority of the day looking for food, moving around the rocky areas. Their fur coat converges with the landscape of their natural living area. During the mid-day they usually find a place where to lie down and rest. Grown-ups basically take naps or clean each other’s fur, but the little ones play with each other. In the evening the Hamadryas baboons find a place to sleep high in the mountains. They choose the place to sleep considering that no predators could harm them.

After a night spent together, the Hamadryas baboons head out for the search of food divided into several groups. They climb trees, rocks – particularly in any place the food could be. The Hamadryas baboons basically live on fruits, which are handpicked from bushes and trees. Baboons have short and strong hands with thick fingers, therefore they can grab the food very well. The cubs stay with the mother for some time and learn how to find the food.  Mother tries not to allow the cub to eat unknown food therefore avoiding possible poisoning. If there’s no fruit, baboons eat grass. During the dry season they dig up the roots of plants and eat the juicy, rubber kind rootstock.  Their tall and strong jaws, which by form remind of dog jaws, hide huge molars, with whom it’s easy to chew hard and dry plants.  The Hamadryas baboons also eat bugs, snails and other invertebrates.

The Hamadryas baboons live in marked hierarchy, which is a huge exception among baboons. Males rule in categorical and tyrannical way. Each mob divides into smaller groups which consist of one leader and harem, where there are about ten females. The male gets his position by guarding the female with great care.  The young male reaches his puberty in five to seven years. In order to mate with the female he has to set up his own harem. The finding part is rather difficult because in the mob every female already belongs to some male which is perfectly willing to fight over her. Males even help each other against the attack of unfamiliar male. Baboons doesn’t have constant mating period, but in dry areas the cubs born during the raining season because there’s plenty of food.