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Gelada Baboon

        Animals | Primates

Gelada Baboon
Gelada Baboon

These baboons, remarkable for their bright red, hairless chests and throats, spend their days foraging in alpine meadows, eating grasses along with their seeds and bulbs.

At night they sleep on small ledges lining cliff walls.

They live in large groups composed of up to four hundred individuals.

Within these groups, social life focuses on smaller groups, which are typically made up of a single adult male and his harem of up to twelve females and their young.

Although the male helps keep the group together through vocalizations and facial gestures, the females influence the mating process, with the more dominant ones having the best access to the males.

This species is under threat due to habitat destruction and hunting.

Animal Facts

Name: Gelada Baboon (Theropithecus gelada)

Family: Cercopithecidae (Old World Monkeys)

Range: Northern Ethiopia

Habitat: Montane grassland and rocky areas

Diet: Grass blades, stems, and seeds

Head and Body Length: 20 to 30 inches (50 to 75 cm)

Tail Length: 18 to 22 inches (45 to 55 cm)

Weight: 30 to 46 pounds (14 to 21 kg)

Life Cycle: Mating May to July; gestation 147 to 192 days, one young (rarely twins) born

Description: Short, brown fur; bright red, hairless chest and throat; male has a long, heavy mane; deeply grooved, dark brown face; short tail with dark brown tuft

Conservation Status: Lower Risk (Near Threatened)

Major Threat(s): Habitat loss and degradation

What Can I Do?: Visit the International Primate Protection League for information on how you can help.

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