Hello! We are the majestic monkeys named Hamadryas Baboon. We are also called as Sacred Baboon as we were once considered as sacred in Egypt.
Have a look at few interesting points about us:
- We were considered as representatives of God of learning, Thoth in ancient Egypt. We were a common pet in ancient Egypt and some of us were even mummified!
- We are quite intelligent primates and can use tools like sticks and stones for several purposes (like threatening other animals and also hunting).
- We are distinguished from other monkeys mostly by the mane that males of our species possess.
- We can communicate quite well using various sounds, actions, and gestures.
- Like every other monkey, we groom each other. Grooming is a very important part of our daily lifestyle to maintain social balance.
- Males of our species yawn and show our strong canines when we feel threatened, they also bark like a dog.
- Do you know? In Tirgrinya language of East Africa, we are called as “Gawina”.
SOME QUICK FACTS ABOUT US:
Our Scientific Name: Papio Hamadryas.
Our Identification: Males have silver-white fur with mane; females have brown fur.
Our Habitat: semi-desert areas, savannas, and rocky areas.
Our range:
Our Food habits: Omnivorous; feed on leaves of shrubs, blossoms, seeds, fruits, grasses, leaves, insects, reptiles, and small mammals.
Our Breeding Period: Mid-June to Mid-August.
Our Gestation Period: 172 days.
Number of cubs born: 1.
Lifespan: 37-38 years in captivity, a little more in the wild.
IUCN red list status: Least Concern.
CITES: Appendix II.
Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Not Listed.
SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION:
Kingdom: Animalia
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiformes
Family: Cercopithecidae
Genus: Papio
Species: P.hamadryas
COMPLETE DETAILS ABOUT US FOR ANIMAL ENTHUSIASTS:
We are the Hamadryas Baboons and are a species of baboon monkeys which belong to the Old World monkey family. We are also called “sacred baboons” as our ancestors were treated as a sacred animal in the ancient Egyptian religion.
Hamadryas Baboons are scientifically called as Papio Hamadryas.
HOW WE LOOK:
We are monkeys with two conditions namely sexual dimorphism (a male being often twice as large as a female) and sexual dichromatism (male and female exhibiting different characteristics beyond sexual organs).
Males of our species have silver-white fur with a cape or mane or mantle whereas a female is brown and doesn’t have a cape. Both male and female faces range from red to dark brown color. Males are up to 80 cm in length and females are about 40-45 cm in length. Males weigh from 20kg-30kg and females weigh from 10kg-15kg. As every monkey, we have a strong supporting and balancing tail measuring about 40cm- 60cm in length. Young baboons are dark in color and get lighter as they age.
WE ARE FOUND IN:
We have our habitat in semi-desert areas, savannas, and rocky areas, requiring cliffs for sleeping and finding water.
We are mostly found in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. In Africa, we can be found in Red sea in Eritrea to Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Somalia. In the Arabian Peninsula, we live in southwestern Arabia, in both Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
WHAT WE EAT:
Like every other monkey, we are omnivores. Our diet is adapted to the dry habitat we live in. In the dry season, we eat leaves of shrubs. In the wet season, we eat blossoms, seeds, fruits, grasses and leaves too. We also eat insects, reptiles, and small mammals.
OUR REPRODUCTION:
We live in groups that often live and share food and shelter with other groups. Each group has a male head that controls all the females in the group and has other males (closely related) as its subordinates. Generally, this male head mate with females in the group. Our breeding season is all around the year.
The gestation period is about 172 days and the females give birth to a single offspring. The offspring are less than a kg when it is born and has a dark skin.
For a few months, the young lives with its mother and leaves the mother when it can eat solid food and walk. The young male becomes sexually mature at the age of 4.8 years- 6.8 years whereas a female becomes sexually mature at the age of 4.3 years.
Our lifespan is 37-38 years in captivity and a little more in the wild.
MORE ABOUT US:
Unlike many other monkeys, we do not have strong and prehensile tail.
We are also good swimmers and cry and bark to keep the group in order and also signal the group about the dangers.
Grooming is very important for us, as this grooming helps in the parasite and dead skin removal as well as maintaining the social bonds between individuals.
We use tools like sticks and branches for various activities including hunting small insects making us quite an intelligent species.
We also dig drinking holes from a short distance from natural waterholes.
OUR CONSERVATION:
The IUCN listed us as “least concern” as our population is abundant and have our habitat and lifestyle protected and adapted. We don’t have any major threats for our existence. Locally we may be at risk due to loss of habitat through agricultural expansion and irrigation projects.
We are also listed in CITES Appendix II.
