Olive Baboon
Kingdom
Phylum
Subphylum
Class
Order
Suborder
Infraorder
Subfamily
Tribe
Genus
SPECIES
Papio anubis
Population size
Unknown
Life Span
25-30 years
Top speed
45
28
km/hmph
km/h mph 
Weight
10-37
22-81.4
kglbs
kg lbs 
Height
60-70
23.6-27.6
cminch
cm inch 
Length
50-114
19.7-44.9
cminch
cm inch 

The Olive baboon (Papio anubis) is a member of the Old World monkeys. The species is the most wide-ranging of all baboons, being native to 25 countries throughout Africa.

Di

Diurnal

Om

Omnivore

Te

Terrestrial

Zo

Zoochory

No

Nomadic

Te

Territorial

Vi

Viviparous

Ar

Arboreal

Po

Polygynandry

So

Social

Do

Dominance hierarchy

No

Not a migrant

O

starts with

Vi

Vicious Animals
(collection)

Appearance

The Olive baboon is named for its coat, which, at a distance, is a shade of green-grey. At closer range, its coat is multicoloured, due to rings of yellow-brown and black on the hairs. The hair on the baboon's face is coarser and ranges from dark grey to black. This coloration is shared by both sexes, although males have a mane of longer hair that tapers down to ordinary length along the back. Like other baboons, the Olive baboon has an elongated, dog-like muzzle. Its 38 to 58 cm (15 to 23 in) long tail and four-legged gait can make it seem canine. The tail almost looks as if it is broken, as it is erect for the first quarter, after which it drops down sharply. The bare patch of a baboon's rump is smaller in the Olive baboon than in the Hamadryas baboon or Guinea baboon. The Olive baboon also has a cheek pouch with which to store food.

Video

Distribution

Geography

Olive baboons inhabit equatorial Africa from Senegal, across to northern Zaire, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, and northern Tanzania, living in many different habitats within this large range. They are often found in the savanna, but also in moist, evergreen forests, rocky cliffs, dry woodland, open grassland, and desert habitats, and near human settlements.

Olive Baboon habitat map

Climate zones

Olive Baboon habitat map

Habits and Lifestyle

Olive baboons are diurnal, spending most of their time on the ground. At night they sleep in trees or cliffs, traveling as a family in the morning to feeding grounds. Before moving off is the time to socialize, while the young ones play. As the day moves towards its close, they go back to their sleeping quarters and again spend some time socializing, doing activities such as grooming, before they sleep. Olive baboons generally live in troops of between 20 to 60 animals, sometimes up to 100 individuals. In a typical troop, the adult males number 7 or 8, with two times that number of females and their young. If troops come across each other, the larger group may cause the smaller one to be displaced, or they just ignore each other. Olive baboons communicate using vocalizations and a large range of facial expressions: staring, raising eyebrows, and baring their teeth are displays of aggression.

Seasonal behavior

Diet and Nutrition

Olive baboons are omnivorous and are experts at foraging in all parts of the environment where they live: on the ground, under the ground, and in the trees. They eat grasses, seeds, roots, fruit, leaves, bark, invertebrates, lizards, turtles, fish, frogs, eggs, the young of birds, young mammals, including other primates, and crocodile eggs. They eat whatever they can find. They shuffle with their hands and feet through the grass while they move or sit, to flush out a possible meal.

Mating Habits

MATING BEHAVIOR
REPRODUCTION SEASON
year-round
PREGNANCY DURATION
187 days
BABY CARRYING
1, rare 2 in
INDEPENDENT AGE
8 months
BABY NAME
Infant

Olive baboons are polygynandrous (promiscuous) meaning both the males and females have multiple partners. Females seek out the males, generally the strong, well-established ones. There is no breeding season, though mating during the rainy season is more common. One baby is born, and rarely two, following a gestation of about 187 days. A mother carries her newborn at her breast by holding it in one arm, then at 4 or 5 weeks old, a baby will sit on her back to ride. The baby first eats solid food when 5 or 6 months old, being weaned at 8 months. Females groom and play with the young. The male helps with rearing and grooming and defends his females when necessary, the young ones often choosing to follow or sit next to the males. Olive baboons become reproductively mature and start to breed at the age of 7-10 years.

Population

Population threats

Predators include all the big cats, such as lions and leopards, wild dogs, hyenas, chimpanzees, and crocodiles. Their habitat is being destroyed by agricultural expansion, and when they raid crops they are systematically exterminated. The conflict that arises when baboons live beside humans sometimes leads to populations of baboons being relocated for the farmers’ benefit but also to save the baboons. They are sometimes hunted for sport and food.

Population number

The IUCN Red List and other sources don’t provide the number of the Olive baboon total population size. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are stable.

Ecological niche

Baboons presumably play a role in aerating soil when they dig up corms, roots, and tubers. Seeds from the fruits and grains they eat are likely to be dispersed.

Coloring Pages

References

1. Olive Baboon Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_baboon
2. Olive Baboon on The IUCN Red List site - http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/40647/0

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