Baboon

Baboon
Hamadryas Baboon (Papio hamadryas)
Hamadryas Baboon (Papio hamadryas)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Family: Cercopithecidae
Genus: Papio
Erxleben, 1777
Species
  • Papio hamadryas
  • Papio papio
  • Papio anubis
  • Papio cynocephalus
  • Papio ursinus

The Baboon is the largest type of monkey. It is a noisy, ferocious, ground-dwelling Old World monkey that lives in groups called troops. Troops vary in size from a few individuals to up to several hundred members.

Distribution

Baboons live in savannas, open woods, grasslands, rocky areas, and dry lands, in Africa and on the Arabian Peninsula. These intelligent primates are endangered due to loss of habitat.

Diet

Baboons are omnivores (they eat both plants and meat). They eat grasses, roots, insects and other small animals, including lizards, small mammals, and snakes.

Predators

Leopards, cheetahs, wild dogs, and people hunt the baboon. When a baboon is threatened by a predator, it will run away or bark loudly and bare its large teeth.