Hamadryas Baboon (Papio hamadryas) Fact Sheet: Summary

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Primates

Family: Cercopithecidae (Old World monkeys: baboons, macaques, and vervet monkeys)

Subfamily: Cercopithecinae

Genus: Papio

Species: Papio hamadryas* (Linnaeus, 1758) - Hamadryas baboon

* General consensus is held among experts on baboon forms, but with broad disagreement over division of species within the genus.

Body Weight:
Male: 16-20 kg (40-45 lbs)
Female: 8-14 kg (20-25 lbs)

Sitting Height:
Male: 500-650 mm (1.6-2.1 ft)
Female: 500-550 mm (1.6-1.8 ft)

Pelage:Adult male: mantle of hair reaching to the hips; bright pink or reddish face with whitish cheek tufts; large, bright red hind-end surrounded by white tufts of hair. Adult female: no mantle; short, brown hair; bright red hind-end; vaginal swelling coinciding with onset of estrous. Infant: hair black to 6 months of age, then brown

Range: Horn of Africa and southwestern Arabia; principally in Ethiopia; regionally extinct, non-native Egyptian population

Habitat: Subdesert, arid brushland, steppe, plain, savannah; Associated with areas having vertical cliff faces (on which they sleep)

IUCN Status: Least Concern (2016 assessment)
Widespread and abundant. No major range-wide threats.

CITES Appendix: Appendix II

Populations in the Wild: stable or increasing

Locomotion: Walks with four limbs. Gait swaggering. Runs as if galloping.

Activity Cycle: Sleep on rock faces at night; congregate near cliffs around sunrise before undertaking daily foraging marches, returning to
cliffs before sunse.

Social Groups: Highly organized social units; 3 primary levels: troops  (c.100) containing several bands (30-90 individuals) comprised of many one-male units (OMU's). Most interactions are between the male leader of an OMU, females within the "harem" and their offspring.

Diet: Primarily vegetarian; consume seeds, roots, berries, leaves, and flowers. Raid agricultural lands. Opportunistically take insects and occasionally prey on hare or dik-dik antelope.

Predators: Humans and domestic dogs; potentially lion, leopards, hyenas, jackals, and cheetah.

Sexual Maturity:
Males: 4.8-6.8 years
Females: 4-5 years

Reproduction: Single offspring (c. 600-900 g)

Gestation: c. 6 months

Birth Interval: 18-36 months

Age at Weaning: c. 1 year

Typical Life Expectancy:
Managed care: about 26 years

Featured Facts

• Native to the Horn of Africa and southwestern Arabia
• Deified by ancient Egyptians
• Males have a striking mantle of hair reaching to the waist; distinguishes this species from other baboons in its range
• Complex social hierarchy within troops
• Forage as a group during the day; primarily vegetarian
• The only baboon species in which males maintain a harem; males mate solely with females in their harem
• Sleep on vertical rock cliffs at night