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Papio hamadryas, Photo: Michael Lahanas Superregnum: Eukaryota Name Papio hamadryas, (Linnaeus, 1758) Vernacular names
Papio hamadryas, Papio hamadryas, Papio hamadryas,
* Papio hamadryas on Mammal Species of the World. ------- The Hamadryas Baboon (Papio hamadryas) is a baboon from the Old World monkey family. It is the northernmost of all the baboons; its range extends from the Red Sea in Egypt to Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia. Baboons are also native to and live in Southwestern Arabia, especially in Yemen. The mountains of Yemen and the horn of Africa make it a great place for the baboons live, where predators are not as common as in central Africa. The Hamadryas Baboon was a sacred animal to the ancient Egyptians as the attendant of Thoth, and so, is also called the Sacred Baboon. Ecology The Hamadryas Baboon is unusual among baboon and macaque species in that its society is strictly patriarchal and patrilineal. Females may try to establish matrilines but they are usually overruled by the males, who forcefully transfer them among social units and away from their female relatives.[4][5] The males limit the movement of the females. They herd them with visual threats and will grab or bite any female that wanders too far away.[6] Males will sometimes raid harems for females, resulting in aggressive fights. Some males succeed in taking a female from another's harem. This is called a 'takeover'.[7][8][9] Visual threats are usually accompanied by these aggressive fights. This would include a quick flashing of the eyelids accompanied by a yawn to show off the teeth. As in many species, infant baboons are taken by the males as hostages during fights. The baboon has an unusual 4-level social system called a multi-level society. Most social interaction occurs within small groups called one-male units or harems containing one male and up to nine females which the males lead and guard. A harem will typically include a younger "follower" male who may be related to the leader.[10][11][12] Two or more harems unite repeatedly to form clans.[13] Within clans, the dominant males of the units are probably close relatives of one another and have an age related dominance hierarchy.[14][15] Bands are the next level. Two to four clans form bands of up to 200 individuals which usually travel and sleep as a group.[16][17][18] Both males and females rarely leave their bands. The dominant males will prevent infants and juveniles from interacting with infants and juveniles from other bands. Bands may fight with one another over food, etc and the adult male leaders of the units are usually the combatants.[19][20] Several bands may come together to form a troop. Several bands also often share a cliff-face which they sleep on.[21][22][23] Reproduction Females do most of the parenting. They nurse and groom the infant and it is not uncommon for one female in a unit to groom an infant that is not hers. Like all baboons, Hamadryas baboons are intrigued by their infants and give much attention to them. Dominant male baboons prevent other males from coming into close contact with their infants. They also protect the young from predators. The dominant male tolerates the young and will carry and play with them [28]. When a new male takes over a female, she may go into deceptive estrous cycles. This behavior is likely an adaptation that functions to prevent the new male from killing the offspring of the previous male. Human interaction Hamadryas baboons are often depicted in ancient Egyptian art as the sacred attendants of Thoth, scribe to the gods. Occasionally Thoth also appears in the form of a hamadryas (often depicted carrying the moon on his head), as an alternative to his usual depiction as an ibis-headed figure. Hapi, one of the Four Sons of Horus that guarded the organs of the deceased, is hamadryas-headed and thus often sculpted as the lid of a canopic jar. Hamadryas baboons were revered because certain behaviors that they perform were seen as worshiping the sun, and they were viewed as mediators between humans and the gods. Transformation of field and pastureland represents the main threat of the Hamadryas Baboon, their natural enemies (the leopard and the lion) having been nearly exterminated in their range. The IUCN lists it as "least concern" in 2008.[2] 1. ^ Groves, C. (2005). Wilson, D. E., & Reeder, D. M. ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 166-167. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=12100586.
* Kummer, H. 1968. Social Organisation of Hamdryas Baboons. A Field Study. Basel and Chicago: Karger, and University Press. Source: Wikispecies, Wikipedia: All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License |
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