Chacma Baboon
Papio ursinus
- Class
- Mammal
- Rarity
- Common
- Observations
- 8,000
- Most observed in
- 🇿🇦 South Africa
- Conservation
- Least Concern
Description
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 behaviours, including a dominance hierarchy, collective foraging, adoption of young by females, and friendship pairings. These behaviors form parts of a complex evolutionary ecology. In general, the species is not threatened, but human population pressure has increased contact between humans and baboons. Hunting, trapping, and accidents kill or remove many baboons from the wild, thereby reducing baboon numbers and disrupting their social structure.
Summary adapted from the Wikipedia article “Chacma baboon”.