Scientific Name
Papio hamadryas
Descriptions
Hamadryas baboons have a fluffy coat. Females and young baboons are brown, while adult males have a silver hair on their shoulders and back. Their faces and rump have pink skin with no hair.
Food
Grass seeds, root, and bulbs make up the diet of the Hamadryas baboon.
Habitat
The Hamadryas baboon lives in Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen. It prefers the rocky desert areas and the subdesert regions that have grass.
Predators
Leopards are the main predator of this baboon.
Social Structure
The Hamadryas baboon has a complex social structure. A male will dominate up to 10 females at a time. This family is a close-knit group, interacting with each other far more frequently than with baboons from other families. Several families form a clan; several clans form a band; several bands form a troop. Males will forcefully steal females from other bands, but will not steal from their own family. Instead, they very gradually win over a juvenile female without confrontation. Young males inherit females from their father. Thus the father’s social status is passed on to his sons. Females are much smaller than males, so they are not as forceful. However, if a female does not favor her male, she will have a much higher chance of being „stolen” from her male.
Lydia King is a huge animal lover and has always been fascinated with learning about the animal kingdom. She enjoys writing about anything animal related from scientific information about rare species to animal references in pop culture.