Neil Cave of Jambiani, Tanzania woke up on May 8 to find three chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) feasting on sliced bread and salad in his kitchen.
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The Ruacana chacma generally appears to be a smaller, less darkly colored version of the Cape chacma.
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The subspecies are divided across this range. The Cape chacma is found in southern South Africa; the gray-footed chacma, is present from northern South Africa, through the Okavango Delta in Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique (south of the Zambezi), to southwest Zambia; and the Ruacana chacma is found in northern Namibia and southern Angola.
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Chacma baboon skeleton The chacma baboon is perhaps the longest species of monkey, with a male body length of and tail length of . It also one of the heaviest; the male weighs from with an average of . Baboons are sexually dimorphic, and females are considerably smaller than males. The female chacma weighs from , with an average of .
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This is the time of greatest tooth length as the teeth tend to wear or be broken thereafter. The three subspecies are differentiated by size and color. The Cape chacma is a large, heavy, dark-brown, and has black feet. The gray-footed chacma is slightly smaller than the Cape chacma, lighter in color and build, and has gray feet.
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Noser, R., & Byrne, R. W. (2007). Travel routes and planning of visits to out-of-sight resources in wild chacma baboons, Papio ursinus. Animal Behaviour, 73(2), 257-266. In the Waterberg Biosphere, chacma baboon comprised 20.2% of leopard kills and 18.7% of the leopard's prey biomass.
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The chacma baboon is generally dark brown to gray in color, with a patch of rough hair on the nape of its neck. Unlike the males of northern baboon species (the Guinea, hamadryas, and olive baboons), chacma males do not have a mane. Perhaps the most distinctive feature of this baboon is its long, downward-sloping face. The canine teeth of male chacma baboons have a mean length of at the time they emigrate from their natal troop.
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Les hommes et les animaux dans la moyenne vallée du Zambèze, Zimbabwe. Editions Quae. It is similar in size to the olive baboon, averaging slightly higher in mean body mass, and of similar weight to the more compact mandrill, the males of which weigh on average about more than a chacma baboon, the females weigh less than the female chacma. While the mandrill is usually crowned the largest of all modern monkeys, going on total length and average (but not maximum) body weight between the sexes, the chacma baboon appears to be the largest extant monkey.
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The chacma baboon is an omnivorous highly opportunistic feeder, and will eat practically anything; typical foods include fruits, seeds, grass, blossoms, bulbs, bark, insects, spiders, worms, rodents, birds, small antelope and fungi (the desert truffle Kalaharituber pfeilii). Chacma baboon diet is thought to contain about 2 percent animal-sourced food, most of which consists of invertebrates; proportions vary between populations. Baboons are considered vermin by most African farmers due to their foraging of cultivated crops and livestock. At the Cape of Good Hope in particular, chacma baboons are also known for taking shellfish and other small marine invertebrates.
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Chacma baboons mating at Cape Point in South Africa Males and female chacma baboons often form relationships referred to as "friendships". These cooperative relationships generally occur between lactating females and adult males. The females are believed to seek out male friendships to gain protection from infanticide. In many baboon species, immigrant alpha males often practice infanticide upon arrival in a new troop.
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Jack (died 1890) was a chacma baboon who attained some fame for acting as an assistant to a disabled railway signalman in South Africa.
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Factors affecting reproduction and mortality among baboons in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. International Journal of Primatology, 25(2), 401-428. The predators of young chacma baboons are probably even more diverse but poorly-documented. It is documented that Verreaux's eagles and martial eagles have taken young chacma baboons and probable or possible predation has been committed by other eagles: crowned eagles and tawny eagles.
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Undoubtedly the main predator of adult chacma baboons overall is the leopard.Cowlishaw, G. (1994). Vulnerability to predation in baboon populations. Behaviour, 131(3-4), 293-304.
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The chacma baboon (Papio ursinus), also known as the Cape baboon, is, like all other baboons, from the Old World monkey family. It is one of the largest of all monkeys. Located primarily in southern Africa, the chacma baboon has a wide variety of social behaviors, including a dominance hierarchy, collective foraging, adoption of young by females, and friendship pairings. These behaviors form parts of a complex evolutionary ecology.
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The sap can cause contact dermatitis and most parts of this plant are considered toxic to humans. The bulb is a favoured dietary item of the Chacma baboon.
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Despite their formidable nature and large size, chacma baboons are vulnerable to a variety of predators.Nowak, R. (1999). Walker's Mammals of the World, Sixth Edition. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
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The chacma baboon inhabits a wide array of habitats including woodland, savanna, steppes, and sub desert, from the grassy alpine slopes of the Drakensberg to the Kalahari desert. During the night, the chacma baboon sleeps atop steep hills, high cliffs or rocks or in large trees, away from nocturnal predators. In daytime, water availability may limit its range in arid areas. It is found throughout southern Africa, ranging from South Africa north to Angola, Zambia, and Mozambique.
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Jooste, E., Pitman, R. T., Van Hoven, W., & Swanepoel, L. H. (2012). Unusually high predation on chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) by female leopards (Panthera pardus) in the Waterberg Mountains, South Africa. Folia Primatologica, 83(3-6), 353-360. Although previously little documented, the African wild dog, a predator of similar or even slightly inferior size to male baboons themselves, in Mana Pools National Park (Zimbabwe) took to chacma baboons as their main prey, comprising 44% of 118 kills.
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The chacma baboon usually lives in social groups, called troops, which are composed of multiple adult males, adult females, and their offspring. Occasionally, however, very small groups form that consist of only a single adult male and several adult females. Chacma troops are characterized by a dominance hierarchy. Female ranking within the troop is inherited through the mother and remains relatively fixed, while the male ranking is often in flux, especially when the dominant male is replaced.
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These negative encounters have resulted in the baboons being hunted and poisoned by frustrated local residents. This isolated population is thought to face extinction within 10 years. Chacma baboons live in proximity to humans and are frequently killed as vermin The chacma is listed under Appendix II of CITES as it occurs in many protected areas across its range. The only area in South Africa where they are monitored is in the Cape Peninsula, where they are protected.
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It is generally a scavenger when it comes to game meat, and rarely engages in hunting larger animals. One incident of a chacma baboon killing a human infant has been reported, but the event is so rare, the locals believed it was due to witchcraft. Normally, wild chacma baboons will flee at the approach of humans, though this is changing due to the easy availability of food and garbage from human dwellings in villages and towns near the baboons habitat.
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These friendships may play a role in the mating system of chacma baboons. A female will often mate with several males, which increases the number of potential fathers for her offspring and increases the chances she will be able to find at least one friend willing to protect her infants and assist in caring for them. Female chacma baboons have been observed to compete with each other for male friends. This may be the result of one male having a high probability of paternity with multiple females.
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Examples are: Barbary sheep, Nilgai, Ankole Cattle and Zebras. Other types of monkeys were housed with the baboons in the past, which were: Hamadryas baboons, Chacma baboons, Yellow Baboons and Drills, according to the 1972 guidebook.
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Many social animals adapt preening and grooming behaviors for other social purposes such as bonding and the strengthening of social structures. Grooming plays a particularly important role in forming social bonds in many primate species, such as chacma baboons and wedge-capped capuchins.
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Kate Jagoe married Bryan Davies, a UCT Zoologist. They lived at Pringle Bay, Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve, east of Cape Town. The couple had a great love for Chacma Baboon troop. Davis and Bryan have two sons Christopher, Robert and one daughter Katherine.
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De Hoop is haven for both terrestrial and marine animals. Numerous species inhabit these habitats. The reserve has a total of 86 mammal species. These include the rare bontebok and Cape mountain zebra, eland, grey rhebok, chacma baboon, yellow mongoose and caracal.
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According to the Newsletter of the Animal Behavior Society, "These results were the first strong evidence that non-human vertebrates use signals to refer to things external to themselves, and as such revolutionized our understanding of the cognitive side of animal communication." Female Chacma baboon (Papio ursinus griseipes) with infant (Botswana)From 1992 to 2008, Seyfarth and Cheney studied vocal communication and social structure of chacma baboons, at the Moremi Game Reserve in Botswana. This research was summarized in their book Baboon Metaphysics (2007). Seyfarth and Cheney studied baboon vocalizations, social relationships, and social cognition, with a particular interest in factors that contribute to baboon fitness.
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Pahad, G. (2010). Social behaviour and crop raiding in chacma baboons of the Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve (Doctoral dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand). However, unlike with larger eagles, the troops of certain baboons do not seem to regard tawny eagles as a threat based on their behavioural responses.Zinner, D., & Peláez, F. (1999).
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Chacma baboons that play a more central role in the group (as measured by grooming behavior and time spent with other members) are more likely to be followed during the morning dispersal. This study concluded that group members are more likely to follow the behavior of individuals with which they are closely affiliated.
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The area around the gorge was once the habitat of leopards and a leopard features prominently on the Kloof crest. (The stuffed leopard in the Durban Museum reportedly was shot in the area). Chacma baboon were once re-introduced to the reserve, but unfortunately, after becoming troublesome, were removed. Bushpig may also be found in the reserve.
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Shakma is portrayed by Typhoon, pictured here with his trainer Gerry Therrien The monkey playing Shakma is called Typhoon and was handled by Gerry Therrien of Action Animals. Although the title might be read to indicate it is a chacma baboon, Typhoon was actually a hamadryas baboon. Actress Amanda Wyss was terrified of the animal. Filming took place at Universal Studios Florida.
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Although not recorded, it is also likely they experience predation from Chacma Baboon, Black-backed Jackal, White-necked Raven, and other snakes in the area (such as Cape Cobra or Puff Adder). Nest success for Cape Rockjumpers is higher in territories that had more recent fire (within 3-5 years), possibly as there were fewer predators present. Illustration from the 1838 description.
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As a comparison, the heaviest primate known to be successfully killed by harpy eagles was a Bolivian red howler (Alouatta sara). The crowned eagle's diet may extend to the young or even (rarely) adult females of baboons and similar species, such as adult female yellow baboons, olive baboons (Papio anubis), chacma baboons (P. ursinus), drills (Mandrillus leucophaeus) and mandrills (M.
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A male Chacma baboon shows aggression towards a female and her offspring.Copulatory calls in primates serve an adaptive function and are sexually selected. Calling signals sexual receptivity of the female and therefore affects mate choice. There are many different hypotheses as to the exact adaptive function of female copulatory calls in primates and research on the subject is still in its early stages.
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Thomas Baines Nature Reserve is a nature reserve in Eastern Cape, South Africa that is managed by Eastern Cape Parks. It was created as a municipal reserve in 1961 and upgraded to a provincial reserve in 1980. The northern shore of the Settlers Dam forms the southern boundary of the reserve. Fauna: African buffalo, Chacma baboon, Common eland, Greater kudu, Oribi.
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At first the centre rescued a variety of small animals, such as bushbabies, civets, warthogs, duikers, porcupines, assorted reptiles and birds. Soon large numbers of orphaned, injured and abused chacma baboons were being brought to the centre. Despite being listed in the CITES Appendix II, they enjoy almost no protection under South African law. Shrinking and degrading their habitat has brought them into conflict with farmers.
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Vervet monkey are common along the river course nearer the Gaborone Dam. Chacma baboon may also be encountered and antelope species such as kudu and impala are present, but rare. Lesser bushbaby nest in this area and black-backed jackal are heard occasionally in the evening. A small population of nile crocodile are resident in the lower courses of the river close to the Gaborone Dam.
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Many are not even known to science and remain yet to be described. The park is also home to mammals including chacma baboons, vervet monkeys, hippopotamuses, leopards, common duikers, bushbucks, greater kudus, and klipspringers. Also to be seen are crocodiles, African fish eagles, and white- breasted cormorants as well as wading birds, kingfishers, hornbills, nightjars, kestrels, swallow-tailed bee-eaters, and many other species of birds.
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Their attraction for birds renders Celtis africana a popular tree in planning bird- friendly gardens. Fruit and seeds are eaten by various animals, including chacma baboon, vervet monkey, tambourine dove, Cape parrot, Rameron pigeon, Knysna lourie, purple-crested lourie, mousebirds, black-collared barbet, crested barbet, Karoo thrush, Cape robin-chat, chorister robin-chat, Cape bulbul, black-eyed bulbul, plum-coloured starling and thick-billed weaver.
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In the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden of South Africa, the primary prey found around nests after a perceptible hyrax decline has become helmeted guineafowl and francolins, followed by cane rats, rabbits and dikdiks (Rhynchotragus ssp.). Young baboons may also be hunted, even the large-bodied chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) which have issued a predator alarm call in response to the presence of Verreaux's eagles.Zinner, D., & Peláez, F. (1999).
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Narina As a traveller in Africa, Levaillant tended to describe the African people with sympathy. He shared Rousseau's idea of the "Noble savage" and condemnation of civilization. He called his "Hottentot" companion Klaas his brother and his equal and was one of the first to describe a close relationship between Western explorer and an indigenous man. One of Levaillant's acquisitions on his travels was a chacma baboon that he called Kees.
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Fred eating in a car Fred (died 25 March 2011) was a chacma baboon from Cape Town, South Africa. He came to international attention as the leader of a baboon "gang" which developed a reputation for raiding homes and cars, assaulting and interfering with local residents and tourists, and stealing food. This led to Fred being labelled as aggressive by authorities. He was captured in 2011, and euthanized soon afterwards.
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It reaches some 2,5 m in height, is trigonous with wiry, drooping yellow-green leaves that are narrowly sword-shaped and keeled. They have scabrid leaf margins armed with minute teeth pointing to the leaf apex. The flowering stems are erect and triangular in cross-section, standing well above the leaves. Nutlets are small and trigonous, often crowned by a persistent style, and are consumed by the Chacma baboon.
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The Condor: Ornithological Applications, 121(1), duy015. When approaching potentially dangerous sites such as watering holes, more vulnerable members of the chacma baboon group may travel near the rear of the group but may conversely end up by the front of group out of fear if a predator approaches.Rhine, R. J., & Tilson, R. (1987). ;;Reactions to fear as a proximate factor in the sociospatial organization of baboon progressions;;.
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Chacma baboons have been observed to adopt orphaned young Dominance does play a role in group foraging decisions. A dominant individual (usually the alpha male) leads the group to easily monopolized resources. The group usually follows, even though many subordinate members cannot gain access to that particular resource. As in morning dispersal, the inclination of group members to follow the leader is positively associated with social interactions with that dominant individual.
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The Cape Point, Kanonkop, Klein Olifantsbos, and Buffels Bay troops live entirely inside the Cape of Good Hope section of the Park. The Groot Olifantsbos and Plateau Road troops range into the park. Chacma baboons are widely distributed across southern Africa and are classified as ″least concern" in the . However, the South African Parks Department states in its publication Mountains in the Sea that the baboon population on the Cape is "critically endangered.
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Chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) are the mammals most intimately associated with the Cape of Good Hope. Baboons inside the Cape of Good Hope section of the park are a major tourist attraction. There are 11 troops consisting of about 375 individuals throughout the entire Cape Peninsula. Six of these 11 troops either live entirely within the Cape of Good Hope section of the park, or use the section as part of their range.
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Chacma baboons mating at Cape Point in South Africa Baboon mating behavior varies greatly depending on the social structure of the troop. In the mixed groups of savanna baboons, each male can mate with any female. The mating order among the males depends partially on their social ranking, and fights between males are not unusual. There are, however, more subtle possibilities; in mixed groups, males sometimes try to win the friendship of females.
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The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex. John Murray, London, pp. 51–52 Darwin continued: These rather anecdotal reports of stone throwing by baboons have been corroborated by more recent research on chacma baboon (Papio ursinus) troops living on the desert floor of the Kuiseb Canyon in South West Africa. Stoning by these baboons is done from the rocky walls of the canyon where they sleep and retreat when they are threatened.
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Adoption behavior has been observed in chacma baboons. Orphaned baboons whose mothers have disappeared or died are often too small to care for themselves. In one study of nine natural orphans and three introduced orphans, all but one orphan were adopted by another member of the group. The individual that was not adopted was 16 months old, four months older than the next oldest orphan, and was old enough to survive on its own.
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The Richtersveld offers habitats for a diverse range of mammal, reptile, and bird species. These include the Grey rhebok, Duiker, Steenbok, Klipspringer, Hartmann's mountain zebra, Chacma baboon, Vervet monkey, Caracal and the African leopard. Reptiles include snakes such as the Puff adder, Black Spitting Cobra, and the Nama Tiger Snake, and lizards which mainly comprise species of Agama. Species of weaver birds, doves, and Guineafowl are often found inland, although bird species become more diverse during the rainier seasons.
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Baboons are primates comprising the genus Papio, one of the 23 genera of Old World monkeys. There are five species of baboons, commonly known as hamadryas baboon, Guinea baboon, olive baboon, yellow baboon and chacma baboon. Each species is native to one of five areas of Africa and the hamadryas baboon is also native to part of the Arabian Peninsula. Baboons are among the largest non-hominoid primates and have existed for at least two million years.
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Guy Shortridge was commemorated in the naming of animals and new taxa, including a rodent species Mastomys shortridgei (Shortridge's multimammate mouse), a bat Miniopterus shortridgei, Shortridge's langur Trachypithecus shortridgei and those he described himself, such as the subspecies Papio ursinus ruacana Shortridge 1942, named as Shortridge's chacma baboon. His notes and letters during the period in Southwest Australia have provided information to later researchers, in particular the examination of the local extinction of mammals at the time of his visit.
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More numerous are jackals and spotted hyenas, African wildcats, caracal and serval. Smaller predators include mongooses, genets, civets, striped polecats, honey badgers, spotted-necked and African clawless otters. Antelopes occurring in Malawi include the common eland, the greater kudu, the waterbuck, the sable and roan antelopes, the bushbuck, the nyala, the impala, the southern reedbuck and several smaller species of antelope. Primates present in the country include yellow and chacma baboons, vervet monkeys, blue monkeys, thick-tailed and lesser bushbabies.
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The chacma baboon often sleeps in large groups on high rocks, cliffs or in tall trees at night to avoid nocturnal predators. The morning dispersal from the sleeping site is synchronized, with all members leaving at the same time. In most cases, dispersal is initiated by a single individual, and the other members of the group decide whether or not to follow. At least five followers must be recruited for a successful dispersal initiation, and not all initiation attempts are successful.
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The scent is carried in the nectar and also appears to become stronger at night. The styles and nectar reservoirs are positioned in such a way that foraging can be done from all angles except from the centre of the head outward. Chacma baboons, either to take the nectar or to search for beetles, are thought to be responsible for decapitated and destroyed flower heads, at least in similar species, and often concentrate such heads in small piles. Birds are extremely infrequent visitors to rodent- pollinated proteas.
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Baboons vary in size and weight depending on the species. The smallest, the Kinda Baboon, is in length and weighs only , while the largest, the chacma baboon, is up to in length and weighs . All baboons have long, dog-like muzzles, heavy, powerful jaws with sharp canine teeth, close-set eyes, thick fur except on their muzzles, short tails, and nerveless, hairless pads of skin on their protruding buttocks called ischial callosities that provide for sitting comfort. Male hamadryas baboons have large white manes.
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Elsewhere in the country there are gemsbok, alternatively known as oryx, nyala, bushbuck and springbok. There are seventeen species of golden mole, a family limited to southern Africa, five species of elephant shrew, many species of shrews, the southern African hedgehog, the aardvark, various hares and the critically endangered riverine rabbit. There are numerous species of bat and a great many species of rodent. Primates are represented by the Mohol bushbaby, the brown greater galago, the Sykes' monkey, the vervet monkey and the chacma baboon.
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A male chacma baboon (Papio ursinus) enjoying of the sunset in the Steenbras Nature Reserve The Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve incorporates the nature reserve as part of its "core conservation area". As such, the nature reserve is surrounded by buffer zones of natural vegetation and environmentally friendly recreational areas, as well as transitional zones of environmentally aware farms and towns. The Kogelberg Nature Reserve itself, as the core conservation area, is exceptionally untouched. In fact, the mountain slopes are closed to the public and strictly protected.
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The chacma baboon is widespread and does not rank among threatened animal species. However, in some confined locations, such as South Africa's Southern Cape Peninsula, local populations are dwindling due to habitat loss and predation from other protected species, such as leopards and lions. Many troops have become a suburban menace in their search for food, overturning garbage cans, and literally breaking into cars and houses where they cause much damage. These troops can be dangerous and aggressive, and they will even steal food directly from people.
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Several more pups have been born since. In May 2009, Auckland Zoo decided to phase out the chacma baboon subspecies and focus on the hamadryas baboon, which is housed in zoos throughout the region. Females, Kito and Ayisha, arrived from Wellington Zoo and in June 2009, males Afar and Wasaro, arrived from Adelaide Zoo Female, Ayisha, was pregnant on arrival from Wellington Zoo and gave birth to a son in July 2009 named Yafeu. In August 2009, Kashin the zoo's 41-year-old elephant was put down following ongoing health issues related to her arthritis.
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This coloration is shared by both sexes, although males have a mane of longer hair that tapers down to ordinary length along the back. Besides the mane, the male olive baboon differs from the female in terms of size and weight, and canine tooth size; males are, on average, tall while standing and females measure in height. The olive baboon is one of the largest species of monkey; only the chacma baboon and the mandrill attain similar sizes. The head-and-body length can range from , with a species average of around .
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Another benefit to high ranking individuals is increased foraging success and access to food resources. During times of water shortage the highest-ranking vervet females have greater access than subordinates females to water in tree holes. In chacma baboons, the high-ranking males have the first access to vertebrate prey that has been caught by the group, and in yellow baboons the dominant males feed for longer without being interrupted. In many bird species the dominant individuals have higher rates of food intake including dark-eyed juncos and oystercatchers.
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American Journal of Primatology, 13(2), 119-128. The adult male chacma baboon has a fearsome defense and may assault their predators with their large, sharp canine teeth, which can at least seriously injure predators as formidable as leopards, and (despite being far from exemption from predation) the adult males tend to be the least vulnerable members of the baboon troops. As in other monkeys, the larger, more formidable male baboons may successfully defend more vulnerable members of the troop via attacking predators if they come into sight.Melnick, D. & Pearl, M. (1987).
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Views from the deck of the Sabi Sabi Lodge Wildlife present include Southern African wildcat, black-backed jackal, blue wildebeest, Burchell's zebra, Cape buffalo, chacma baboon, civet, common duiker, African bush elephant, South African giraffe, hippopotamus, impala, kudu, large- spotted genet, African leopard, cheetah, lion, reedbuck, scrub hare, side- striped jackal, slender mongoose, spotted hyena, steenbok, tree squirrel, vervet monkey, warthog, waterbuck, southern white rhinoceros, white-tailed mongoose and Cape wild dog. Also seen here are a variety of birds including saddle-billed storks, vultures, cattle egrets and brown-headed parrots, as well as several species of reptile and invertebrates.
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Male baboons also direct care towards unrelated offspring based on male affiliations with female mothers. Baboon males and females within a social group often exhibit “friendships” with females which begin during birth of her infant and has been observed to end abruptly if the infant dies. Males establish associations with females in which they have previously mated resulting in affiliative behaviour and protection towards her offspring. Relationships created by male and female members are significant for infant survival in Chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) because the risk of infanticide in early infancy is higher in this species.
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Some 236 species of mammal have been recorded in Mozambique, of which 17 species are considered threatened. Ungulates found here include the common warthog, the hippopotamus and the South African giraffe and around twenty species of antelope including the common eland, the Lichtenstein's hartebeest, the greater kudu, the sable antelope, the nyala, the waterbuck, the blue wildebeest and the Cape bushbuck. There are around fifty species of rodent, a dozen of shrew, over sixty species of bat and a single hedgehog, the four-toed hedgehog. Primates are represented by bushbabies, vervet monkeys, blue monkeys, chacma baboons and yellow baboons.
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The most immediate and obvious form of protection against infanticide is physical defense wherein mothers either directly prevent aggressive acts toward their offspring or recruit other individuals for assistance. Female primates have been observed to actively defend territory from potentially infanticidal females, as seen in chimpanzees. In order to recruit the non-parental assistance in defense, female chacma baboons utilize "friendships" with males, wherein the male forms a bond with the infant until weaning, that may serve to protect their offspring from aggression by higher ranking males or females. A Hanuman langur mother feeding an infant.
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The mandrill is the heaviest living monkey, somewhat surpassing even the largest baboons such as chacma baboon and olive baboons in average weight even considering its more extreme sexual dimorphism, but the mandrill averages both shorter in the length and height at the shoulder than these species. The average male is long and the female is , with the short tail adding another . The shoulder height while on all fours can range from in females and in males. Compared to the largest baboons, the mandrill is more ape-like in structure, with a muscular and compact build, shorter, thicker limbs that are longer in the front and almost no tail.
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Penguins nesting in a roadside suburban storm drain As Africa becomes increasingly urbanized, native animals are exposed to this new environment with the potential of uniquely African urban ecologies developing. In the Cape Town urban area in South Africa, there is increasing conflict between human development and nearby populations of Chacma baboons due to baboons growing dependence on tourists and the urban environment as sources of food. Elsewhere in Africa, vervet monkeys as well as baboons adapt to urbanization, and similarly enter houses and gardens for food. African penguins are also known to invade urban areas, searching for food and a safe place to breed.
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Chacma Baboons have been observed to use contact calls not only as identification tools and locators of members of the group, but also as a way of communicating messages with one another about their status with respect to the main group. Mother baboons can recognize and locate the contact calls or barks of her offspring when they venture to forage or explore independently, such as to be able to find them if they get lost and need help finding their way back. The mother never barks back, unless she is in danger of being separated from the group (i.e. searching for her offspring will lead her too far astray from the group as it moves across the terrain).
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Chacma baboons use stones as weapons; stoning by these baboons is done from the rocky walls of the canyon where they sleep and retreat to when they are threatened. Stones are lifted with one hand and dropped over the side whereupon they tumble down the side of the cliff or fall directly to the canyon floor. Although they have not been observed to use tools in the wild, lemurs in controlled settings have been shown to be capable of understanding the functional properties of the objects they had been trained to use as tools, performing as well as tool-using haplorhines. Tool manufacture is much rarer than simple tool use and probably represents higher cognitive functioning.
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Paternal care in the form of protection for the infant is therefore more beneficial than long term investment in Chacma baboons and is believed to be directed towards both biological and non-biological infants in the group. Rhesus Macaque Similarly to baboons, paternal roles and the underlying mechanisms as to why paternal care evolved vary within macaque species. In Sulawesi crested macaques (Macaca nigra) both male rank and the relationship to the mother predicted male care towards an infant instead of true biological paternity. In both Sulawesi and Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) males adopted a “care-then-mate” strategy, in which care is provided to infants regardless of paternity in order for the male to increase future mating opportunities with the mother.
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Finally, social network analysis can also reveal important fluctuations in animal behaviors across changing environments. For example, network analyses in female chacma baboons (Papio hamadryas ursinus) revealed important dynamic changes across seasons which were previously unknown; instead of creating stable, long-lasting social bonds with friends, baboons were found to exhibit more variable relationships which were dependent on short-term contingencies related to group level dynamics as well as environmental variability. Changes in an individual's social network environment can also influence characteristics such as 'personality': for example, social spiders that huddle with bolder neighbours tend to increase also in boldness. This is a very small set of broad examples of how researchers can use network analysis to study animal behavior.
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The Oviston Nature Reserve offers a 16 000 ha of unspoilt wildlife area which hosts aardvark, aardwolf, Southern African wildcat, bat-eared fox, black wildebeest, black-backed jackal, blesbuck, brown hyena, Burchell's zebra, Cape clawless otter, Cape fox, Cape ground squirrel, Cape hare, Cape porcupine, caracal, chacma baboon, duiker, eland, kudu, mountain reedbuck, gemsbuck, red hartebeest, rock dassie (rock hyrax), scrub hare, small-spotted cat, small spotted genet, Smith's red rock hare, southern African hedgehog, spotted- necked otter, springbuck, steenbuck, suricate, vervet monkey, water mongoose and yellow mongoose. The Orange River offers the ideal setting for sunset cruises. The area surrounding the lake gives mountain bike enthusiasts open stretches with rides into the Oviston Nature Reserve. This is a bird lovers' paradise, with a wide variety found on the farm.
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A South African giraffe Central Kalahari Game Reserve is an extensive national park in the Kalahari Desert of Botswana. Established in 1961 it covers an area of (larger than the Netherlands, and almost 10% of Botswana's total land area), making it the second largest game reserve in the world. This park contains wildlife such as giraffe, elephant, white rhinoceros, Cape buffalo, spotted hyena, brown hyena, honey badger, meerkat, yellow mongoose, warthog, cheetah, caracal, Cape wild dog, black-backed jackal, bat-eared fox, cape fox, leopard, lion, wildebeest, zebra, eland, sable antelope, gemsbok, springbok, steenbok, impala, greater kudu, aardvark, cape ground squirrel, cape hare, cape porcupine, chacma baboon, red hartebeest and ostrich. The land is mostly flat, and gently undulating covered with bush and grasses covering the sand dunes, and areas of larger trees.
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Occurs with animals, such as in Hanuman langurs. The practice has been observed in many other species of the animal kingdom since it was first seriously studied by Yukimaru Sugiyama. These include from microscopic rotifers and insects, to fish, amphibians, birds and mammals, including primates such as chacma baboons. According to studies carried out by Kyoto University in primates, including certain types of gorillas and chimpanzees, several conditions favor the tendency to kill their offspring in some species (to be performed only by males), among them are: Nocturnal life, the absence of nest construction, the marked sexual dimorphism in which the male is much larger than the female, the mating in a specific season and the high period of lactation without resumption of the estrus state in the female.
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Since infant mortality in Amboseli yellow baboons depends in part on the number and ages of other infants born into the group, pre-ovulatory females that are most susceptible to stress-induced delay or inhibition of ovulation are the most frequent targets of female coalition attacks. Female attackers are often in advanced stages of pregnancy and have the most to lose if the number of infants in the group reaches an unsustainable level. A similar study of Chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) noted high levels of female-female aggression around the mating season when the number of ovulating females was high (indicated by sexual swellings) and that aggression directed toward suppressing the mating opportunities of ovulating females. Among elephant seals (Mirounga) high neonatal mortality occurs when the number of pups born in a season is high, with deaths resulting from injury and starvation.
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A cheetah silhouetted against a sunset in the delta The Okavango Delta is both a permanent and seasonal home to a wide variety of wildlife which is now a popular tourist attraction. All the big five game animals, the lion, leopard, African buffalo, African bush elephant and both the black rhinoceros and white rhinoceros are present. Other species include giraffe, blue wildebeest, plains zebra, hippopotamus, impala, common eland, greater kudu, sable antelope, roan antelope, lechwe, waterbuck, sitatunga, tsessebe, cheetah, African wild dog, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal, caracal, serval, aardvark, aardwolf, African savanna hare, honey badger, crested porcupine, common warthog, chacma baboon, vervet monkey and Nile crocodile. The delta also hosts over 400 bird species, including the helmeted guineafowl, African fish eagle, Pel's fishing owl, Egyptian goose, South African shelduck, African jacana, marabou stork, crested crane, African spoonbill, African darter, Southern ground hornbills, wattled crane, lilac-breasted roller, secretary bird, and common ostrich.
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The list of species found in the reserve includes sixty mammals, three hundred birds, one hundred plants and numerous reptiles and insects. Wildlife includes the big five: lion, leopard, buffalo, African elephant and rhinoceros, as well as the small five: ant lion, leopard tortoise, buffalo weaver, elephant shrew and rhino beetle.Mabula Game Reserve Apart from these, the following mammals can be seen here: Hedgehog, lesser bushbaby, vervet monkey, chacma baboon, pangolin, scrub hare, tree squirrel, spring hare, greater cane rat, porcupine, bat-eared fox, black-backed jackal, striped polecat, honey badger, Cape clawless otter, African civet, large spotted genet, small spotted genet, yellow mongoose, marsh mongoose, slender mongoose, white-tailed mongoose, banded mongoose, aardwolf, spotted hyena, brown hyena, cheetah, caracal, serval, Southern African wildcat, black-footed cat, aardvark, rock hyrax, Burchell's zebra, bushpig, common warthog, hippo, giraffe, klipspringer, common duiker, steenbok, blesbok, reedbuck, mountain reedbuck, impala, springbok, blue wildebeest, black wildebeest, tsessebe, red hartebeest, gemsbok, waterbuck, bushbuck, nyala, kudu and eland.
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