Baboon
Papio | |
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Hamadryas baboon (Papio hamadryas) | |
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Genus: | Papio Erxleben, 1777
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Baboons are monkeys of the genus Papio. They are one of the largest kinds of monkey. It is an intelligent Old World monkey. It lives on the ground in groups called troops. Troops can be as small as a few baboons or as big as several hundred members.
Distribution
[change | change source]Baboons live in forests and on savannahs in Africa and on the Arabian Peninsula. As they move into the open land, the family groups come together into groups several hundred strong, led by adult males that work together to protect the others from predators.
Diet
[change | change source]Baboons are omnivores (they eat both plants and meat). They eat grasses, roots, insects and other small animals, like lizards, small mammals, fish, birds, and snakes. In some places, they steal food from humans.
Predators
[change | change source]Leopards, cheetahs, African wild dogs, lions, hyenas and people hunt the baboon. To scare the predator away, baboons can show their eyelids, show their teeth, chase the predator, and make noise.
To understand their lives, one must see them in their natural environment.[1]