Chacma Baboon (Papio ursinus)

Okavango Delta

Moremi Game Reserve

Botswana

Southern Africa

 

Baboons are some of the world’s largest monkeys. There are five species of baboon—olive, yellow, Chacma, Guinea, and Hamadryas—scattered across various habitats in Africa and Arabia.

 

The baboon, like other Old World monkeys, does not have a prehensile (gripping) tail, but it is still able to climb when necessary. All baboons have dog–like noses, powerful jaws, sharp canine teeth, and thick fur. The male baboon also has a ruff—a longer mane around its neck. The Chacma Baboon (Papio ursinus), also known as the Cape baboon, is, like all other baboons, from the Old World monkey family.

 

The Chacma Baboon is perhaps the longest species of monkey. It is also one of the heaviest. The female Chacma is a lot smaller.

 

There are three subspecies, 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, this is the one found in Botswana.

 

The chacma baboon is omnivorous with a preference for fruits, while also eating insects, seeds, grass, smaller vertebrate animals, and fungi (the desert truffle Kalaharituber pfeilii).

 

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. - Wikipedia

 

Done