Baboon

Baboons belong to the genus Papio, which is one of the 23rd Old World monkey genera. Baboons are classified into five species: hamadryas baboon, a Guinea baboon, olive baboon, yellow baboon, and chacma baboon. Each species is native to one of five African regions, with the exception of the hamadryas baboon, which is also native to the Arabian Peninsula. Baboons are the world's largest non-hominid primates, with a history dating back at least two million years.

Baboon Meaning 

A large terrestrial African and Arabian monkey that belongs to the genus Papio. Baboons come in a wide range of sizes and weights, depending on the species. The Kinda Baboon is the smallest, measuring 50 cm (20 in) in length and weighing just 14 kg (31 lb), while the Chacma Baboon can grow up to 120 cm (47 in) in length and weighs 40 kg (88 lb). Baboons have long, dog-like muzzles, strong, powerful jaws with sharp canine teeth, close-set eyes, thick fur except on their muzzles, short tails, and nerveless, hairless pads of skin on their protruding buttocks called ischial callosities for sitting comfort. Giant white manes are found on male hamadryas baboons. Baboons have sexual dimorphism in terms of age, colour, and/or growth of canine teeth.

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Baboons are diurnal and live on land, but at night they sleep in trees, cliffs, or rocks to avoid predators. Throughout Africa, they can be found in open savannas and woodlands. Grass, seeds, roots, leaves, bark, various fruits, insects, fish, shellfish, rodents, birds, vervet monkeys, and small antelopes are all common sources of food for them. Crocodiles, leopards, tigers, and hyenas are their primary predators. The majority of baboons live in harem-filled troops. Baboons can be differentiated based on the dominant relationships between individuals by listening to vocal exchanges.

In general, any male may mate with any female; however, the order in which males mate is influenced by their social status. Females normally give birth to one child after a six-month pregnancy. Females are typically the primary caregivers for their young, while multiple females may share the responsibility for all of their offspring. After about a year, the offspring are weaned. They attain sexual maturity between the ages of five and eight years of age. Males typically leave their birth group before sexual maturity, while most females remain in the same group throughout their lives. Baboons can live up to 45 years in captivity, but they only live 20 to 30 years in the wild.

Taxonomy

There are five species of Papio that are widely known, but there is some debate about whether they are complete species or subspecies. P. Ursinus (chacma baboon, found in southern Africa), P. Papio (western, red, or Guinea baboon, all these baboons are found in far western Africa), P. hamadryas (hamadryas baboon, is mostly found in the Horn of Africa and southwestern Arabia), P. Anubis (olive baboon, found in north-central African savanna), and P. Cynocephalus (yellow baboon, are mostly found in south-central and eastern Africa).

The Five Species of Baboons in the Genus Papio are Given Below:

• Hamadryas baboon, Papio hamadryas

• Guinea baboon, Papio Papio

• Olive baboon, Papio Anubis

• Yellow baboon, Papio Cynocephalus

• Central yellow baboon, Papio Cynocephalus Cynocephalus

• Ibean baboon, Papio Cynocephalus ibeanus

• Kinda baboon, Papio Cynocephalus kindae

• Chacma baboon, Papio ursinus

• Cape chacma, Papio ursinus Ursinus

• Grey-footed chacma, Papio ursinus griseipes

• Ruacana chacma, Papio ursinus raucana

Many authors consider P. hamadryas to be a separate species, but all others are considered subspecies of P. cynocephalus and collectively referred to as "savanna baboons." It is based on the argument that the hamadryas baboon is behaviorally and physically distinct from other baboon species, and that this represents a different evolutionary background. Recent morphological and genetic studies of Papio, on the other hand, indicate that the hamadryas baboon is more closely related to the northern baboon species (Guinea and olive baboons) than to the southern species (the yellow and chacma baboons).

Papio's heterogeneity is likely underrepresented by the standard five-form grouping. According to some commentators, the grey-footed baboon (P. Ursinus griseipes) from Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and northern South Africa, as well as the tiny Kinda baboon (P. cynocephalus kindae) from Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Angola, should be recalled. However, existing knowledge of Papio's morphological, genetic, and behavioural diversity is insufficient to render a conclusive, systematic decision.

Scientific Classification

Characteristics

Baboons have long, dog-like muzzles, strong, powerful jaws with sharp canine teeth, close-set eyes, thick fur except on their muzzles, short tails, and ischial callosities, which are rough patches on their protruding buttocks. The baboon's sitting comfort is provided by these calluses, which are nerveless, hairless pads of skin.

Sexual dimorphism is present in all baboon species, most notably in height, but also colour and canine growth. Male hamadryas baboons have massive white manes, as do females.

Behaviour and Ecology 

Baboon animals have the ability to learn orthographic processing skills, which are essential for reading.

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Habitat and Prey

Baboons are ground-dwelling mammals that can be found in open savannah, open forest, and hills in Africa. They eat grasses, roots, seeds, leaves, fruits, insects, fish, shellfish, rats, birds, vervet monkeys, and small antelopes, among other things. They are foragers, and they are around at all hours of the day and night. They often attack human homes, and they have been known to prey on cattle, goats, and poultry in South Africa.

Predators

Nile crocodiles, tigers, spotted and striped hyenas, and leopards are their main predators. They are tough prey for the leopard, which is mostly interested in young baboons. Large males will often confront them by yawning, flashing their eyelids, making movements, and running after the intruder/predator. The black mamba snake has killed baboons, despite the fact that they are not prey. When a baboon inadvertently rouses the snake, this happens.

Social Systems

The collective noun for baboons is "troop" and most baboons stay in hierarchical troops. The average group size is 50 animals, but it can range from 5 to 250 depending on the species, place, and time of year. The troop structure differs significantly between hamadryas baboons and the other species, which are often referred to as savanna baboons. The hamadryas baboons are often seen in large groups made up of several smaller harems (one male with four or more females) to which females from other parts of the troop are recruited when they are still too young to breed. Some baboon species have a more promiscuous social system with a strict matrilineal dominance hierarchy. A younger male will usually join the hamadryas baboon party, but he will not attempt to mate with the females unless the older male is removed. The males in the harems of hamadryas baboons jealously protect their females, to the point of catching and biting them if they stray too far away. Regardless, some males will raid harems in search of females. Such circumstances sometimes result in violent fights between males. These violent battles are often accompanied by visual attacks. A brief flashing of the eyelids, followed by a yawn to show off the teeth, is one of these. A "takeover" occurs when a male successfully takes a female from another's harem. Males in many species take baby baboons as hostages or use them as shields during battles.

Baboons may deduce the dominant relationships between individuals based on vocal exchanges. Baboons are more interested in confrontations between different families or when a lower-ranking baboon takes the offensive than those between members of the same family or when a higher-ranking baboon takes the offensive. This is because clashes between families or rank challenges can have a greater effect on the entire troop than a family's internal dispute or a baboon reinforcing its supremacy.

Baboon social dynamics can also differ; in the 1980s, Robert Sapolsky wrote about a troop called the Forest Troop that had slightly less violent social dynamics after its most aggressive males died off during a tuberculosis epidemic, leaving a skewed gender ratio of majority females and a minority of low-aggression males. The troop's relatively low-aggression culture continued into the 1990s and was expanded to new male recruits, though Sapolsky noted that, while exceptional, the troop was not an "unrecognizably different utopia"; there was still a dominance hierarchy and violent intrasexual rivalry among males. Furthermore, no new baboon behaviours were developed; rather, the frequency and background of established baboon behaviour were altered.

Mating

Baboon mating behaviour varies a lot depending on the troop's social structure. Each male in a mixed group of baboons (savanna) may mate with any female. Males' mating order is influenced by their social status, and fights between males are not uncommon. However, there are more subtle possibilities; in mixed groups, males can try to win females' friendship. They can groom the female, assist in the care of her young, or provide her with food in order to gain her friendship. It's quite likely that those young are their descendants. Pleasant males are specifically preferred by certain females as partners. Males, on the other hand, will take infants to shield themselves from harm during battles. By showing her swollen rump to the male's face, a female initiates mating.

Birth, Rearing Young, and Life Expectancy

Females normally give birth after a six-month pregnancy, to a single infant; twin baboons are uncommon and often die. When a baby baboon is born, it weighs around 400 gram and has a black epidermis.

Females are typically the primary caregivers for their young, though many females may share the responsibility for all of their offspring. The young animals are weaned after around a year. They attain sexual maturity between the ages of five and eight. Male baboons leave their birth group before sexual maturity, while female baboons are philopatric and remain in the same group throughout their lives.

Baboons in captivity have been known to live up to 45 years, while wild baboons have a lifespan of 20 to 30 years.

Relationship With Humans 

Babi was a holy animal in Egyptian mythology since he was the deification of the hamadryas baboon. It is also known as the holy baboon because it was known as Thoth's attendant. Baboon Woman, a 2009 documentary, looks at the relationship between baboons and humans in South Africa.

Diseases

Baboons are infected by the herpesvirus Papio family of viruses and strains. Their human consequences are uncertain. When humans infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis are in close proximity to primates, the disease can be transmitted. Pathogens have a high probability of spreading across humans and nonhuman primates like baboons.

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Amazing Facts about Baboon

• Baboons are social primates that live in groups of about 50 people (though groups can grow to 300!). They can be regularly observed engaging in social behaviours such as grooming and sharing food.

• Baboons are mostly vegetarians, although they will consume insects, fish, birds, and small mammals on occasion.

• Baboons use a variety of vocalisations to communicate with one another. There are over 30 different vocalisations used, including grunts and cries, as well as a variety of non-vocal movements including shrugging and lip-smacking.

• Baboons come in five different species. Olive and yellow baboons are the two most common species in East Africa.

• The Guinea baboon is the tiniest, and the Chacma baboon is the biggest.

• Baboons have loose cheeks that allow them to gather food when foraging and store it for later consumption once they return to a safe place.

• Baboons have a daily routine that is identical to ours. They usually get up around 7.30 a.m. Before going out to forage for food, they spend some time with their group. During the day, they forage, feed, rest, and groom themselves before returning to their sleeping areas at night.

• Females give birth every other year on average. They normally have one child and have a 6-month gestation period.

• The bond between a mother and her baby baboon is extremely strong. The young will be carried by the mother before he or she can ride on her back. For the first few months, they are in regular contact, and the mother is very attentive. Infants are not permitted to play or associate with other young baboons until they are about 4 months old.

• Baboons are powerful animals with sharp canine teeth that are comparable in length to those of lions. They can, however, use threatening vocalisations and movements to prevent combat.

• The baboon was respected in Ancient Egyptian society, and its intellect was admired. The baboon was also a representation of the god Thoth and was occasionally portrayed as a guardian of the underworld's dead.

• For millions of years, baboons have coexisted with human ancestors. A two-million-year-old baboon skull discovered in South Africa is believed to be the oldest baboon fossil.

Conclusion

From this article, it is very clear that baboon animals are very closely related to humans and they are used as an ideal animal model for the study of human kidney development and also in some of the other medical studies. In this article, we have come across baboon meaning, taxonomy, classification, characteristics, behaviour and ecology. This makes us understand the baboon social behaviour, mating, life cycle and also the relationship with the humans.