Baboons have many features that enable them to live. Their physical features are suited for tree-dwelling. The eyes are on the front rather than on the sides of their heads, under heavy brow ridges and the ears and faces are naked. The head can be described as long and large containing sharp canine teeth and a muzzle much like that of a dog. The arms of a baboon are about as long as its legs. All of these characteristics were visible from Figure 1. Varying from baboon to baboon, their tails can range from be stumpy to more than 24 inches long. Visible differences can be made between the males and f

Many primates engage in the activity of grooming, which is common in baboons (Smuts, ). Babara Smuts states the definition of grooming as “the amiable simian habit of picking through a companion’s fur to remove dead skin and ectoparasites”, and this was obtained from (“Little Things That Tick Off Baboons”) The exchanges of grooming are a means to gain support during aggression, tolerance at sites of feeding or food spot access (Strum, 1987). The amount and length of grooming depends on the social status, relationships (e.g. mother to infant grooming), or as a gesture for a male to attract a mate (Strum, 1987)

Dominance, grooming, communication and reproduction are some of the social behaviour factors that make baboons vulnerable. Dominance: these primates living in groups form dominance hierarchies. Lower ranked individuals will be displaced by higher individuals for space, mates and food (Strum, 1987). Higher reproductive success is found among higher-order ranks (Hausfater, 1975). This hierarchy depends on a number of changing factors, such as sex, age, aggression and perhaps intelligence. Grooming: is a common primate activity and is an important affilative mechanism. Subordinate animals tend to groom more dominant ones and females are groomed by males for sexual access (Hausfater, 1975). Communication: which includes vocalizations, gestures, body posture and scents. Most of them indicated emotional status such as fear, excitement confidence and anger. Yawns or laughter exposing teeth are often threats, as is direct eye contact (Burton: lecture). Reproduction: pair bonding of any sort is rare among these primates. High order males are more successful to reproduce than their counter parts.

Olive baboons are sexually promiscuous, males and females usually mate with several members of the opposite sex within a short period of time (Hausfater, 1975). Varying colors of a female’s behind represent the different stages of a female’s reproductive cycle (Burton: lecture). Pink swelling on adult females become progressively brighter as they are in their prime stages (Burton: lecture). When ovulation takes place the swelling is at its largest size, during this time the competition between males for females occur (Strum, 1987). Females will copulate with less dominant males and unit leaders, whereas males copulate with only the females belonging to their own unit (Strum, 1987). Copulation consists of a s

Some topics in this essay:
Smuts Dominance, Tick Baboons”, World Monkeys, Monkeys Baboons, Africa Strum, National Geographic, Smuts Olive, Baboons Papio, strum 1987, Western Cape, York ISSN, olive baboons, hausfater 1975, males females, 1987 baboons, burton lecture, strum 1987 baboons, adult females, national geographic, journal primatology --, grooming common, journal primatology, primatology -- york, -- york issn, ill american journal,