Permission Pending from Caroline Seawright |
Permission Pending from Caroline Seawright |
The Hamadryas Baboon( Papio hamadryas) is often referred to as the desert baboon to distinguish them from the other Papio baboons(savanna and mountain baboons). To a greater extent, this baboons is often known as the sacred baboon. These baboons are sexually dimorphic, and they can be dated back to the time of ancient Egyptians where they are considered to be the incarnation of Thot, the god of scribes and scholars
( Kummer 1995). In this time period, the Baboons were mummified, entombed and associated with sun worship. The adult male baboons have silvery-grayish capes and the weigh an average of 18.5 -18kg whereas the female baboons have olive- brownish capes and they weigh an average of 10.7- 8kg(Stammbach 1978 ). Both males and females have a pinkish faces and bottoms ( Kummer 1968). The females will often show their red swelling bottoms to male hamadryas baboons when they are in estrus. Several hamadryas baboons are in captivity in zoos around the world and several hamadryas baboons are being utilized for research. Additionally, hybrid hamadryas baboons such as the hamadryas-like hybrid baboon (Papio spp.) used in the Gil-Burmann have been artificially breed (Gil-Burmann 473).
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The hamadryas baboons are primarily located in the horn of Africa and across the Red sea in the Arabian peninsula. They live in the semi-desert and arid bush lands of Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Yemen ( Swedell 2002 ). The average temperature in the horn of Africa and the Arabian peninsula ranges from an average minimum of 40 degrees Fahrenheit to an average maximum of 80 degrees Fahrenheit
( Kummer 1995). As noted above, these baboons live in a semi desert areas where tall trees are scares, therefore they sleep in large but spatially distinct aggregations on vertical rocks. The home range of hamadryas baboons ranges from 1km2 - 40km2 . Hamadryas baboons engage in several behavioral such as grooming, neck biting, playing, play fighting, actual fighting and these behaviors are usually done throughout their home range. In Hans Kummer extensive study of hamadryas baboons , he utilized Hediger’s term of fixpunkt to categorize where certain activities of hamadryas baboons occurred. The term fixpunkt is often used to designate certain animal activities are concentrated on certain spots in the home range( Kummer 1968). Kummer noted three behaviors that hamadryas baboons behaviors exhibited exclusively at the vertical sleeping rock: copulation, fighting, ands sleeping. Additionally, Kummer also noted that eating and drinking were never undertaken at the sleeping rock. The hamadryas baboons leave the sleeping rock in large aggregates to search for the food and watering holes. However due to the social spacing of the hamadryas baboons, the large aggregates of hamadryas baboons may disintegrate into smaller units as they search for food (Barton et al. 1996 ) .
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This Page was created by Stella Kenyi, stkenyi@davidson.edu, as student website for Biology 323, Animal Behavior, At Davidson College