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Did You Know?
Baboons have cheek pouches below the lower teeth extending down the neck. When fully expanded, they can hold the equivalent of a full stomach of food!
Viewing Hints
Look on the ground, as baboons are somewhat terrestrial.
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Guinea baboon
Papio papio
| Size |
The Guinea baboon is the smallest of the baboon species. Head and body may measure 20-32 inches, with a tail of about the same length. Males are larger than females. |
| Weight |
Male Guinea baboons weigh about 50 to 90 pounds, females about 28 to 50 pounds. |
| Conservation Status |
On the IUCN Red List for Threatened Species, the Guinea baboon is listed as Near Threatened. |
| Diet |
In the wild, Guinea baboons eat fruit, seeds, flowers, roots, tubers and animal prey, including other mammals. They may also raid crops.
In the Zoo, they eat primate chow biscuits, greens, fruits, vegetables and items such as nuts, seeds and cheerios, which are used for foraging.
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| Geographic Range |
Baboons are found in the West African countries of Senegal, Mauritania, Gambia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. |
| Where to find me in the Zoo |
The Guinea baboons and the black & white colobus take turns in the outdoor African primate exhibit across form the entrance to the Children's Zoo. |
Note: Description below should include Longevity, Behavior, and Reproduction information
Guinea baboons are the smallest baboon species. Their coats are evenly colored a reddish brown. The face is naked and black in color; on females, the rump is naked as well, and pink or red in color. Guinea baboons, like all baboons, have long dog-like snouts with impressive canine teeth. Males have a mantle of fur around the head and are noticeably larger than females.
Guinea baboons are normally found in evergreen gallery forests and woodland savannas.
Longevity
In zoos, guinea baboons might typically live to be about 20 years old, but some live into their thirties.
During her estrus cycle, the skin on the female's rump will swell, indicating her readiness for breeding. Gestation lasts about 184 days, and births occur at an interval of 1-2 years. Babies ride hanging from the mother's belly for the first 6 to 12 weeks, and then may switch to the "jockey" position and ride sitting or lying on her back.
Baboons are diurnal mammals, or active during the daytime. They live in multi-male, multi-female groups, usually containing 30-40 individuals, but occasionally as large as 200. Usually one male and a group of 3-4 females forage together as a subgroup during the day. At night, several subgroups join together to form larger sleeping groups.
Guinea baboons are quadrupedal, meaning they move around on all fours. Baboons are more terrestrial than most other primates and are often found at ground level, although they can be partly arboreal and are very capable of climbing.
Baboon's cheek pouches are utilized for short-term food storage. By packing a lot of food quickly into its cheek pouches, a baboon can nab food before a neighbor does, to chew and swallow at leisure later.
Malaika: Female, born May 12, 1988 at the Sedgwick County Zoo in Kansas. She arrived at the
Zoo March 3, 2003.
Darla: Female, born April 16, 1984 at the Sedgwick County Zoo in Kansas. She arrived at the
Zoo on March 3, 2003.
Nabongo: Male, born September 10, 1995 at Parc Zoologique de Paris. He arrived at the zoo on
December 18, 2002. His name means "highest chief" in Swahili.
Gondwana: Male, born April 27, 1998 at Parc Zoologique de Paris. He arrived at the zoo on
August 12, 2005.
Enrichment
Adoption Information
Featured Foster Parent
The male baboon came to the Philadelphia Zoo all the way from the Paris Zoo in France! The male has been paired with two U.S. born females for potential breeding.
Baboons have cheek pouches below the lower teeth extending down the neck. When fully expanded, they can hold the equivalent of a full stomach of food!
Unlike many other primates, baboons are somewhat terrestrial and are often found at ground level, although they are very capable of climbing when they choose.
Enrichment
Sources:
1) Philadelphia Zoo staff;
2) Burnie, D., and Wilson, D. E., eds. 2001. Animal: The Definitive Visual Guide to the World's Wildlife. New York: DK Publishing; Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution;
3) Estes, R.D. 1991. The Behavior Guide to African Mammals. Berkeley: The University of California Press;
4) Macdonald D. 1999, ed. The Encyclopedia of Mammals. New York, NY: Facts on File, Inc;
5) Nowak, R. M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World. Vol. 1. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press;
6) Rowe, N. 1996. The Pictorial Guide to the Living Primates. East Hampton, NY: Pogonias Press;
7) IUCN 2007. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 04 January 2008.
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