Chacma Baboon

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iChacma Baboon

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Family:	Cercopithecidae
Genus:	Papio
Species:	P. ursinus

Binomial name

Papio ursinus
(Kerr, 1792)

The Chacma Baboon (Papio ursinus) is, like all other baboons, from the Old World monkey family. With a body length of up to 115 cm and a weight from 15 to 31 kg, it is the largest and heaviest baboon species. It has dark-brown or grey hair with a long snout; unlike other baboons, the males do not have a mane.

Its range is southern Africa and extends south of Angola, Zambia and Mozambique to South Africa. Sizes and skin coloring can vary within that range; particularly small individuals occur in the Kalahari.

Like all baboons it lives in groups, mostly in mixed social groups, although in some regions (for example parts of South Africa) an alpha male dominates. It possesses a complex group behavior and communicate by means of body attitudes, facial expressions, sounds and touch. The Chacma Baboon is omnivorous with a preference for fruits, while also eating insects, seeds and smaller vertebrate animals.

The Chacma Baboon is widespread and does not rank among threatened animal species.

There are three subspecies of the Chacma Baboon:

Papio ursinus ursinus
Papio ursinus griseipes
Papio ursinus raucana

[edit] References

Butynski et al (2000). Papio ursinus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.
Groves, Colin (16 November 2005). Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 167. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.