Baboon Facts – Characteristics
There are five species of baboon in Africa
Baboon Facts – Habitats
Baboons live in a surprisingly wide variety of habitats, basically not really caring where they are as long as they have a water source and something like tall trees or caves on a cliff face where they can sleep safely.
In fact, even the water source can be optional, since they can survive for a quite a while by licking their fur clean of overnight condensation, although by preference they will drink properly every other day or so.
Baboon Facts – Habits
Baboons are extremely crafty, very intelligent and most adaptable as well, part of the reason they are considered by the natives to be pests and ‘vermin’ rather than the ‘wildlife’ foreigners tend to see.
Most days, baboons rise by about 8 a.m, have a good mutual grooming session while the kids play, then set off in columns to start looking for food. They can walk around six miles a day in this way, split either side of a siesta during the hottest part of the day.
Facts – Family
Baboons live in troops of around 50 animals, consisting of 15 or so related females with their offspring, both babies and sub-adults, and up to eight or so mature males. There is a very definite system of rank which is adhered to rigidly – everyone knows their place and sticks to it, or else…
Baboon Facts – Predators
The baboons’ main predator is, of course, humans. However, they learned pretty quickly that humans can still kill or injure them when they are trying to escape in the trees, so if we’re the problem they run away through the undergrowth instead.
The only other real predators they have are big cats – leopards, lions and cheetahs – and the males will try to face these down by standing up in a line, displaying their enormous teeth and yelling at the tops of their voices. It often works, and otherwise the baboons are fierce fighters if they have to be …
Baboon Facts – Noises!
Despite their lack of a spoken language as we understand it, baboons do use a range of around thirty sounds such as screams, grunts and barks. They also use non-vocal indications that include yawning, shrugging their shoulders and smacking their lips. It seems they get their message across one way or another!