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Afrikaans Bobbejaan Shona Bveni,Gudo Tswana
Tshwene
Photo Kobus Hugo
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Tracks
F 11cm
H 15cm
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Distribution |
Dung
10cm
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Description
The Baboon's colour varies from brown-grey to dark brown or nearly black but
is usually grey-brown.
Adult males have a dark mane on the neck and shoulders. The hair is long and coarse. The
backs of the hands and feet are dark brown or black. Young have black hair and pink skin.
The ears have pointed tips, and the muzzle is long and broad. The limbs are long
and powerful with the the arms being longer than the legs. The first third of the
tail is held stiffly upwards, with the end two thirds hanging down. There are
areas of on the rump. Females have a pair of nipples on the chest. Average
total length
males 1,5m with the tail 70cm and weight 35kg. Total length females
1m with the tail 58cm and weight 15kg.
Male/Female Differences
Males can be distinguished from females by
their larger size, longer muzzles and larger canine teeth. Callosities
(thickened skin on the rump) meet in the
middle below the anus in males instead of widely separated in females.
Habitat and Distribution
Cliffs or tall trees preferred for sleeping. With food, water and suitable sleeping
place are available, baboons can survive
almost anywhere.
Diet
Omnivorous; grass, leaves, insects, bulbs, fruit and other vegetation, eats
invertebrates, including shellfish, eggs, small vertebrates, fish, birds, and mammals.
Reproduction
Females have reproductive cycles of 29-42 days with an average of 36 days. When a
female is sexually receptive the sexual skin on her rump swells and turns bright pink.
Maximum swelling is reached 5-6 days before she ovulates, and males compete for access to
females in this condition because mating at those times have a higher chance of leading to conception.
The most dominant male has privileged access to females. Gestation is six months. Single young, rarely twins, are born at any time of the
year and are weaned at 6-8 months. Females reach sexual maturity at 6-7 years and give birth every 2
years. The Baboon's lifespan 20-30 years. Due to their inaccessible roosts, sentinels and guards, baboons
suffer only occasional losses to large carnivores; leopards are the most likely predator.
Behavior and habits
 Active during the day, sleeping at night in large trees or on cliff ledges. Baboons are
very social and live in female-bonded troops of between 4 and about 100 individuals
with an average troop size of about 40. Troops are smaller in poorer habitats and larger
in richer areas. There is usually more than one male in a
troop. Females stay in the troop that they were born in; males emigrate and may move from
troop to troop. Separate dominance hierarchies exist among the males and females.
Males outrank females. Daughters inherit their mother's rank. Male dominance depends on
physical condition, and high rank is held for only 6-12 months, depending on sex ratios
in the population. Females can rise in rank by forming alliances with close female
relatives, or with male 'friends'. Young ride under their mother's belly; as they grow they change to riding
sideways on her back, and then astride, using her tail as a backrest. Males are protective
towards infants that are probably their offspring, and act as babysitters while the mother
forages, probably to protect the youngsters from infanticide by immigrant males.
Sounds
Males make loud barking/booming sound. Others chatter and shriek. Fights are accompanied by
loud screams, and squeals. Baboons are usually
quiet, and social vocalizations are mainly soft grunts. The very loud, two-syllable
'ba-hoo' bark is an alarm call given mainly by adult males.
Dung and Field sign
Droppings are 10cm, irregular and roughly rounded; they are often artfully deposited on top of rocks.
Fresh dung has a strong, distinctive odor. Stones and rocks turned over in search of
food.

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