baboon

Hamadryas baboon of Ethiopia, Somalia, and southern Saudi Arabia. Like all baboons, this species has a doglike muzzle and a sloping back. They live in family groups consisting of an old male, several females, and their young, sleeping in trees or among rocks at night and wandering in search of food during the day.

Large monkey of the genus Papio, with a long doglike muzzle and large canine teeth, spending much of its time on the ground in open country. Males, with head and body up to 1.1 m/3.5 ft long, are larger than females, and dominant males rule the ‘troops’ in which baboons live. They inhabit Africa and southwestern Arabia.

Species include the olive baboon P. anubis from West Africa to Kenya, the chacma P. ursinus from South Africa, and the sacred baboon P. hamadryas from northeastern Africa and southwestern Arabia. The male sacred baboon has a ‘cape’ of long hair.