Baboons

Baboons have long dog-like muzzles; heavy and very powerful jaws with sharp canine teeth.

Olive Baboons are the most widely spread of all baboon species. One major reason for its widespread success is that the olive baboon is not bound to a specific food source. It is omnivorous, finding nutrition in almost any environment, able to adapt with different foraging tactics. The olive baboon will search as wide an area as it can, and it will eat virtually everything it finds. The olive baboon will also hunt prey, from rodents and hares to foxes, other primates and sometimes even small antelope, such as Thompson’s Gazelle.

The olive baboon lives in groups of 15-150, made up of few males, many females and their young. There is a complex social hierarchy similar to that found in other primates, such as chimpanzees and gorillas. Each baboon has a social ranking somewhere in the group, depending on its dominance.

Infants are born with a black natal coat and bright pink skin. Females provide most of the care for infants but male may also take part. Infants are dependent on their mothers for food and traveling for their first several months of life. For the first few days of life the the infant may have difficult time grasping on its mother and relies on her for physical support. However, its grasp will soon strengthen and is able to cling to its mother's fur by itself. The infant begins to break contact with its mother and begin to explore their surroundings but only for some minutes and they are usually not far from their mothers. The distance that the infant spends away from its mother increases as it ages.