Baboon |
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Unique Features
Baboons have cheek pouches which they stuff with food until they bulge, then they retreat to a safe place to eat the stored food. The bare skin on a baboon's buttocks is like a built-in cushion that enables them to sit comfortably on hard rocks or tree branches. Baboons have excellent eyesight. They sleep in trees or on the rocky outcrops of cliff faces. Baboons have an extremely varied diet; they eat all parts of a tree, flowers, seeds, berries, mushrooms, fruit, eggs, insects, earthworms, birds, lizards, crabs and small mammals such as mice, hares, bushbabies and vervet monkeys.. Baboons are able to walk on all fours, or on two legs Predators The baboon's natural enemies are lion, hyena, cheetah and pythons. Baboons move in troops and their best defense against predators are the large males in the troop. They appear very menacing with their long canine teeth, bristling manes and aggressive roars. When the troop is on the move, the males flank the troop for protection and when hunted, the males will usually drop to the rear of the troop, putting themselves between the predator and the weak or vulnerable lagging members of the troop. Several males usually move ahead of the troop and scout the area for danger. Family Ties Baboons live in troops numbering from 10 to 200. The troop is a close family unit which changes only with births and deaths. Small troops usually only have one dominant male, while larger troops may have several dominant males. Baboons are extremely vocal and make a wide variety of sounds including shrieks, squeals, barks, roars, grunts and chattering. Grooming each other is an essential part of strengthening friendship bonds. The animal doing the grooming picks bits of skin, dirt, fleas or parasites with either teeth or fingers and eats the pickings. Mating Females reach sexual maturity between the ages of two and three and bear their first young during their fourth year. When a baboon is born, the troop gather round and make a fuss of it. Newborn babies cling to the fur on the the underside of their mother's belly. Once the baby gets stronger, it rides on its mother's back. |