# Hamadryas baboon (*Papio hamadryas*)

Baboons are fascinating monkeys known for their colorful bottoms and loud calls. They live in groups called troops and are excellent climbers.

- **Category:** [Mammals](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/mammal)
- **Rarity:** Common
- **Danger:** 3/5 · Moderate
- **Habitat:** Dry, rocky country: semi-desert, steppe and grassland with cliffs and rocky areas.
- **Also known as:** Baboons, Hamadryas Baboon

![Baboon](https://res.cloudinary.com/drieglelr/image/upload/v1771426196/objects/5880.jpg)

## Appearance

The Baboon has a distinctive dog-like muzzle and bare, pinkish buttocks called ischial callosities. Males feature an impressive silvery-white mane extending from their head down their back, making them visually different from the browner females.

## Taxonomy

- **Kingdom:** Animalia
- **Phylum:** Chordata
- **Class:** Mammalia
- **Order:** Primates
- **Family:** Cercopithecidae
- **Genus:** Papio

## Hamadryas baboon, up close

The hamadryas baboon (Papio hamadryas) is a large Old World monkey of the Horn of Africa and south-west Arabia, where it lives in dry, rocky country and sleeps on cliffs. Adult males wear a silver-grey cape and have a pink-red face and seat, while females weigh less than half as much and are olive-brown. Ancient Egyptians held it sacred to Thoth, the god of wisdom, and shipped baboons in from the faraway land of Punt.

Also called: Sacred baboon, Mantled baboon, Hamadryas.

A silver cape, a four-level society and a place in ancient Egypt’s temples. Spin it, tap it, then test yourself.

### Special abilities

- **Wahoo Bark** (2-part bark of adult males): Adult males give a loud two-part bark, the “wahoo”, aimed at leopards and other big cats, or at rival males. [1][15][4]
  - Everyone except adult males gives a shrill alarm bark when something sudden scares them.
  - They also make rhythmic grunts and other, quieter calls.
  - All 6 baboon species share the same basic kinds of call. They differ in how often and how strongly they use them.
- **Tension Yawn** (4 canines in a 32-tooth mouth): A huge yawn that shows off long canines is one of the hamadryas baboon’s threat signals. [7][2][1][16][8]
  - Males give tension yawns towards rivals or predators, with the canine teeth clearly on show.
  - Not every yawn is a threat. In a zoo study of 28 hamadryas baboons and 602 yawns, most yawns were not aimed at anyone, and males yawned more than females.
  - Yawns were catching there too: one baboon’s yawn could set off another’s.
  - In baboons, the upper canines are kept sharp by rubbing against a lower tooth.
- **Eyelid Flash** (31+ face and body signals): A hard stare and a flash of pale eyelids: this is how a baboon says “back off” without a fight. [5][3][2][1]
  - Researchers describe the eyelid flash in baboons as lowering the eyelids to show pale skin just above the eyes.
  - It often comes with staring, head bobbing and raised hair. To a hamadryas baboon, staring is itself a threat.
  - The friendly opposite is lip-smacking or teeth-chattering, which calms things down.
  - Captive hamadryas baboons use at least 31 face and body signals, made with 15 facial muscles.
- **Root Digger** (4 kinds of buried food): In dry country, the best food is often underground. Hamadryas baboons dig with their hands for tubers, roots, rhizomes and corms. [1][12]
  - Their digging probably helps to loosen and air the soil where they forage.
  - In the hottest, driest months in Ethiopia, the baboons lived almost entirely on 4 plants: doum palm, an acacia, a sedge and a bulrush.
  - They also eat grass and grass seeds, gum, flowers, fruit and insects.
- **Palm Feast** (2 plants eaten every month): At Filoha in Ethiopia, doum palms and an acacia were on the menu every single month of the year. [12][13][14][10]
  - Most hamadryas baboons rely on acacias. At Filoha they ate mostly palm fruit when it was ripe, and preferred acacia flowers to its leaves.
  - Meat is a rare extra: there, a baboon was seen eating a small animal about once every 36 hours of watching.
  - Near towns in Saudi Arabia, baboons that feed on rubbish and handouts need far less space.
  - Home range of GPS-collared males (median): Wild areas 8.79 km²; Near towns 1.31 km²
- **Cliff Bedtime** (11 sleeping cliffs used by one band): Every evening, hamadryas baboons climb a steep cliff and sleep on its ledges, out of reach of leopards. [17][18][2][10]
  - In Ethiopia, a band of about 230 baboons usually reached its cliff by 18:00 and left by 07:00. GPS collars showed it used 11 different cliffs.
  - At the cliff, small units gather into troops of several hundred baboons for the night.
  - Where cliffs are missing they make do: one band sometimes slept in doum palms, and in Saudi Arabia some troops sleep in trees.
- **Grown-Up Colours** (≈10 years to get the cape and pink seat): You can read a hamadryas baboon’s age and sex from its colours: a full-grown male has a silver cape, white cheeks and a pink-red face and seat. [1][2]
  - Babies are born black and turn olive-brown, like adult females, by about 6 months to a year.
  - Young males look like females for years. Their cape, white cheeks and pink seat only appear once they reach full size, at about 10 years old.
  - A full-grown male weighs about 21.5 kg, more than twice as much as a female at about 9.4 kg.

### Body parts

- **Mantle** (≈10 years before a male grows his cape) [1][2][3]
  - Adult males have a long, bushy, silver-grey cape of hair, the mantle, running from pale cheek “whiskers” over the shoulders and back.
  - The cape only grows after a male reaches full size, at about 10 years old. Females never get one.
  - Females in a unit groom their leader male a lot, especially his mantle, face and seat.
  - In a threat display, baboons can raise their hair and shake their mantle to look bigger.
- **Face** (15 facial muscles) [4][1][5]
  - Baboons have a long, dog-like muzzle. In hamadryas baboons, the bare face of an adult male is pink to red.
  - A study of the face found 15 facial muscles. The whole brow lifts as one.
  - Captive hamadryas baboons use at least 31 different face and body signals to communicate.
- **Eyes** (3 kinds of colour cell (Old World monkeys)) [2][3][6]
  - To a hamadryas baboon, a long stare is a threat, not a friendly look.
  - Baboons can lower their eyelids to flash the pale skin just above the eyes, a warning signal.
  - Old World monkeys tested so far have three kinds of colour-sensing cone cell, like most people, so they see a full range of colours.
- **Mouth** (32 teeth) [7][4][8][5]
  - A baboon has 32 teeth, including 4 canines. Males have much bigger canines than females.
  - In baboons, the upper canine rubs against a lower tooth as the jaw closes, which keeps its edge sharp.
  - Like other Old World monkeys in their subfamily, hamadryas baboons have cheek pouches for storing food while they forage.
- **Ears** (7 muscles around each ear) [5]
  - Each ear is moved by 3 muscles outside the ear and 4 small ones on the ear itself.
  - On a big male, the thick mantle can hide the ears completely.
- **Seat pads** (2 hairless sitting pads) [9][7][1]
  - The seat has two hairless pads of thick, tough skin called ischial callosities. All Old World monkeys have them.
  - The pads sit over two bony knobs of the hip bone.
  - The skin around the pads is pink to red in both sexes. A male’s bright pink seat only develops once he is full grown.
- **Hands** (4 kinds of buried food dug up) [1][2]
  - Hamadryas baboons use their hands to dig for tubers, roots, rhizomes and corms.
  - Their digging probably helps to loosen and air the soil where they forage.
  - Hands are also for grooming: picking through a friend’s fur is how baboons build relationships.
- **Legs** (6.5–19.6 km walked in a day) [1][10]
  - Hamadryas baboons walk on all fours across dry, open country, covering 6.5–19.6 km a day.
  - In Saudi Arabia, a GPS-collared male once walked at least 20.6 km in a day.
  - Males living off rubbish near towns walked less: a median of 2.16 km a day, against 3.33 km in wild areas.
- **Tail** (38–61 cm tail length) [1][7][11]
  - The tail is 38–61 cm long, and the head and body 61–76 cm.
  - A skeleton study counted 20–21 bones in the tail.
  - The tail is one easy way to tell a baboon is a monkey, not an ape.
- **Belly** (2 plants eaten every month) [12][13][14]
  - In Ethiopia, doum palms and an acacia were the only plants eaten in every month of the year.
  - In the hottest, driest months, the baboons lived almost entirely on just 4 kinds of plant.
  - They eat insects too, especially when locusts swarm, and now and then a little meat.

### Stats

| Stat | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | ≈21.5 kg | adult males; females ≈9.4 kg; A male weighs more than twice as much as a female [1][2] |
| Head and body | 61–76 cm | plus a tail of 38–61 cm [1] |
| Lifespan | ≈20 years | in the wild; about 31 in zoos, record 37.5 [2][20] |
| Pregnancy | ≈172 days | about 5½ months, usually one baby [1][20] |
| Newborn | 600–900 g | born with a black coat [1] |
| One-male unit | 2–23 | baboons; on average about 7 [1] |
| Troop at the cliff | Several hundred | some troops near Saudi towns top 500 [2][10] |
| Daily walk | 6.5–19.6 km | record by GPS: at least 20.6 km [1][10] |
| Home range | ≈75 km² | one Ethiopian band of about 230 baboons [17] |
| Teeth | 32 | including 4 canines [7] |

### Photos

- [Adult male with his silver cape, Saudi Arabia](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Male_Hamadryas_Baboon_(8083156623).jpg) (photo: Nick Shields, CC BY 2.0)
- [Adult female, Awash National Park, Ethiopia](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hamadryas_baboon_(Papio_hamadryas)_female.jpg) (photo: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- [Juvenile male, Awash National Park, Ethiopia](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hamadryas_baboon_(Papio_hamadryas)_juvenile_male.jpg) (photo: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- [Mother carrying her baby, Awash National Park, Ethiopia](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hamadryas_baboon_(Papio_hamadryas)_mother_and_baby.jpg) (photo: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- [Grooming builds friendships, Saudi Arabia](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grooming_Hamadryas_Baboons_(8083151215).jpg) (photo: Nick Shields, CC BY 2.0)
- [A lone male, Saudi Arabia](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lone_male_Hamadryas_Baboon_(8083144600).jpg) (photo: Nick Shields, CC BY 2.0)
- [Baboons between Afdera and Awash, Ethiopia](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Babouins_entre_Afdera_et_Awash_(1).jpg) (photo: Ji-Elle, CC BY-SA 3.0)
- [In the wild in Somalia](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Papio_hamadryas_258448410.jpg) (photo: Tony King, CC BY 4.0)
- [Hellabrunn Zoo, Munich, Germany](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hamadr%C3%ADade_(Papio_hamadryas)%2C_Tierpark_Hellabrunn%2C_M%C3%BAnich%2C_Alemania%2C_2012-06-17%2C_DD_16.JPG) (photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0)

### Questions

- **Are hamadryas baboons dangerous?** They are strong, have big canines and can become aggressive when people come close or when they have learned to expect food. Watch from a distance, never feed them and don’t stare at them. If an animal bites or scratches you, tell an adult, wash the wound with soap and water for at least 15 minutes and see a doctor. [2][25][35]
- **What do hamadryas baboons eat?** Mostly plants: acacia flowers, seeds and leaves, doum palm fruit, grass, and roots, tubers and corms they dig up. They also eat insects, especially when locusts swarm, and now and then a small animal. [1][12][13][14]
- **Why were baboons sacred in ancient Egypt?** The hamadryas baboon was the sacred animal of Thoth, the god of writing, wisdom and the moon. Baboons did not live wild in Egypt, so Egyptians imported them, first from the land of Punt and later from what is now Eritrea, probably through the port of Adulis. Many were mummified. [23][24][29]
- **Where do hamadryas baboons live?** In dry, rocky semi-desert, steppe and grassland in the Horn of Africa (Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia and eastern Sudan) and in the mountains of south-west Arabia. They are the only wild monkeys in Arabia. [1][24][10]
- **Why do baboons have red bottoms?** Baboons sit on two hairless pads of tough skin called ischial callosities. In hamadryas baboons the skin around them is pink to red, and a male’s seat turns bright pink once he is full grown, at about 10 years. [9][1]
- **What is a one-male unit?** It is the hamadryas baboon’s family group: one leader male with 1–9 females and their young. Several units form a clan, clans form a band, and bands share a sleeping cliff as a troop. [1][26]
- **How long do hamadryas baboons live?** About 20 years in the wild and about 31 in zoos. The oldest on record, a male in human care, reached 37.5 years. [2][20]
- **Is the hamadryas baboon endangered?** No. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern, and in Saudi Arabia numbers have grown fast. The main problem is conflict with people over crops, livestock and rubbish. [32][10][37]

### Hamadryas baboon myths and facts

Tap Myth or Fact for each claim, then check the answer.

- "Baboons are apes." **Myth!** Baboons are Old World monkeys, in the family Cercopithecidae. Apes have no tail, but a hamadryas baboon has a tail 38–61 cm long. [11][1][7]
- "People carried hamadryas baboons to Arabia in ancient times." **Myth!** An old idea said Egyptians or traders brought them. DNA from hundreds of baboons shows they crossed from Africa on their own, probably at the narrow Bab-el-Mandab strait, between about 130,000 and 12,000 years ago. [21][22]
- "Ancient Egyptians brought baboons by ship from a land called Punt." **Fact!** Temple pictures show baboons on ships from Punt. In 2020, chemical clues in mummified baboons traced two of them to a region covering today’s Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and parts of Somalia and Yemen. There is no sign that baboons ever lived wild in Egypt. [23][24]
- "Baboons were linked with an Egyptian god." **Fact!** The hamadryas baboon was the sacred animal of Thoth, god of writing, wisdom and the moon. Baboons appear in Egyptian art over more than 3,000 years, and many were mummified. [23][24]
- "When a baboon yawns, it is always tired." **Myth!** Many yawns are ordinary yawns. But a male’s tension yawn, with the canines on show, is a threat aimed at rivals or predators. [2][16][1]
- "Feeding baboons is a kind way to help them." **Myth!** Handouts and rubbish draw baboons into towns, where they raid homes, cars and farms and can attack people. In a survey in Saudi Arabia, 86% of residents said feeding baboons is harmful. [25][10]
- "Hamadryas babies are born black." **Fact!** Newborns have a black coat, which makes them easy to spot. It turns olive-brown by about 6 months to a year. [1][2]
- "Each baboon troop has one king who bosses everyone." **Myth!** A troop holds many small one-male units, each with its own leader male. When choosing a water hole, leaders seem to “vote” by taking a few steps in the direction they prefer. [1][26]

### The hamadryas baboon’s four-level society

Scientists find layered societies like this mainly in three groups of primates: some baboons and geladas, some Asian leaf monkeys, and humans.

- **One-male unit**: The basic family group: one leader male with 1–9 females and their young, 2–23 baboons in all. Females usually stay in a unit for years: a median of 40 months in one study. [1][19]
- **Leader male**: Heads a unit and gets most of the grooming. Females mostly change units when another male takes over, not by choice. [1][19]
- **Follower male**: A younger male who tags along with a unit. Leaders and their followers tend to be related through their mothers. [1][27]
- **Clan**: A few units that stick together. At Filoha in Ethiopia, a band was split into two clans of 7–13 units each, and most takeovers happened inside a clan. [1][26][19]
- **Band**: Several clans that travel and forage together, about 200 baboons at Filoha. When food is scarce, a band breaks up into its clans or units. [26][28]
- **Troop**: Bands that share a sleeping cliff at night, adding up to several hundred baboons. [1][2]

### A day in the life of a hamadryas baboon

From cliff to water hole and back again, every single day.

- **Sunrise**: Wake up on the cliff. The troop wakes on the cliff ledges. Young ones chase and play, and everyone grooms within their unit. [2]
- **By 07:00**: Head out. In Ethiopia, the band usually leaves its sleeping cliff by 07:00. [17]
- **Morning**: Choose the way. Leader males step off towards a water hole. Others seem to agree by stepping the same way, or “vote” for another by stepping elsewhere. [1]
- **Late morning**: Split up and forage. When food is scarce, the band spreads out in clans and one-male units. They dig for roots and corms and pick acacia flowers and palm fruit. [28][1][13]
- **Afternoon**: Water break. The troop meets up again to drink, especially in dry times. Groups are biggest at water and at the cliff, when baboons are most at risk. [2]
- **All day**: A long walk. Altogether, a day’s walk is 6.5–19.6 km. [1]
- **By 18:00**: Back to the cliff. The band usually reaches a sleeping cliff by 18:00. One Ethiopian band used 11 different cliffs. [17]
- **Sunset**: Groom and gather. Units join up into a troop of several hundred and groom again before bed. [2]
- **Next morning**: Safety in numbers. After a night when predators were heard, the band stays together longer before splitting up. [28]

### Hamadryas baboons in ancient Egypt

Baboons never lived wild in Egypt, yet they appear in Egyptian art over more than 3,000 years.

- **c. 3150–3100 BC**: An early statuette. A baboon statuette from the time of King Narmer is one of the oldest baboon images. [23]
- **c. 2480 BC**: Ships to Punt. Carvings from King Sahure’s time show the earliest known trip to Punt to bring back monkeys. [23]
- **c. 1473–1458 BC**: Hatshepsut’s baboons. Temple carvings of Queen Hatshepsut show hamadryas baboons on ships returning from Punt. [23]
- **1390–1353 BC**: Giant statues. Amenhotep III set up several 35-tonne quartzite baboon statues at Hermopolis. [24][23]
- **Many centuries**: Thoth’s animal. The baboon stood for Thoth, god of writing, wisdom and the moon, often shown seated with a moon disc on its head. Baboons with raised arms were shown greeting the rising sun. [23][24]
- **c. 800–540 BC**: Valley of the Monkeys. At Gabbanat el-Qurud near Thebes, at least 36 baboons were kept and mummified. Their bones show they lived with too little sunlight and a poor diet. [29][24]
- **2020**: Mummy chemistry. Oxygen and strontium in two older mummies matched a region covering today’s Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and parts of Somalia and Yemen: very likely Punt. [23]
- **2023**: Mummy DNA. DNA from a Valley of the Monkeys mummy matched hamadryas baboons living in Eritrea today, pointing to present-day Eritrea, and probably the port of Adulis, as a source. [24]

### Hamadryas baboon records

Superlatives and record holders, each checked against its source.

- Most northerly baboon: Hamadryas baboon, Hijaz mountains (in Saudi Arabia: no other baboon lives as far north) [2][10]
- Only wild monkey of Arabia: Hamadryas baboon, 1 species (the only native non-human primate of the Arabian Peninsula) [10][22]
- Only baboon outside Africa: Hamadryas baboon, 130,000–12,000 years ago (when it crossed into Arabia) [21]
- Rare kind of society: Hamadryas baboon, 4 levels (unit, clan, band and troop, a set-up found mainly in 3 primate groups) [26][30]
- Biggest baboon statues: Amenhotep III’s baboons, Hermopolis, 35 tonnes (each, carved from quartzite) [24][23]
- Longest life on record: A male in human care, 37.5 years (about 20 years is usual in the wild) [20][2]
- Longest day’s walk: A GPS-collared male, Saudi Arabia, 20.6 km (at least, in a single day) [10]

### Hamadryas vs olive vs chacma baboon

There are 6 baboon species. The hamadryas stands out for its silver cape, pink face and unusual society.

| | Hamadryas baboon | Olive baboon | Chacma baboon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scientific name [11][31][8] | Papio hamadryas | Papio anubis | Papio ursinus |
| Where [1][31][8] | Horn of Africa and south-west Arabia | The most widespread baboon, across much of Africa | Southern Africa |
| Adult male [1][31][8] | ≈21.5 kg | ≈25 kg | 26–31 kg |
| Adult female [1][31][8] | ≈9.4 kg | ≈14 kg | ≈15 kg |
| Male coat [1][31][8] | Silver-grey cape | Olive-grey, mane on the front of the body | No mane, just longish hair on the nape |
| Face and seat skin [1][31][8] | Pink to red | Dark grey to black | Purplish-black |
| Groups [4] | One-male units inside clans, bands and troops | Groups of many males and females | Groups of many males and females |
| Who leaves home [4] | Mostly females | Males | Males |
| IUCN Red List [32][33][34] | Least Concern | Least Concern | Least Concern |

Where hamadryas and olive baboons meet in Ethiopia’s Awash valley, they interbreed and produce hybrids.

### Staying safe around hamadryas baboons

Baboons are strong, clever and have big canines. Watch them calmly from a distance and they will usually ignore you.

- **Never feed** not even a snack. Handouts and rubbish teach baboons to raid homes, cars and farms. 86% of residents surveyed in one Saudi region said feeding baboons is harmful. [25][10]
- **Keep away** give them space. Hamadryas baboons can become aggressive when people come close. Stay well back, and never try to touch one. [2]
- **Don’t stare** a stare is a threat. To a baboon, a long stare is a challenge. Look away calmly and move off slowly. [2]
- **Hide food** bags closed, bins shut. Food in view and open rubbish draw baboons in. Keep food packed away and rubbish secured. [25][10]
- **15 min** wash any bite or scratch. If an animal bites or scratches you, tell an adult, wash the wound with soap and water for at least 15 minutes and see a doctor straight away. [35]

### Is the hamadryas baboon endangered?

No. It is widespread and, in parts of Saudi Arabia, increasing. The big challenge is living alongside people.

- **IUCN Red List:** Least Concern (LC). Widespread across the Horn of Africa and south-west Arabia, and zoo experts describe its numbers as stable. In Saudi Arabia, wild-area numbers rose from about 1,079 in 1989 to nearly 19,500 in 2025, and more than 24,000 more live around towns. [32][36][2][10]
- IUCN Red List, assessed 2016 (published 2019).
- **Threat: Conflict with farmers** (3.84): Baboons sometimes take sheep and goats. Around Borena-Sayint National Park in northern Ethiopia, 300 households reported on average 3.84 livestock animals each attacked over 5 years. [37]
- **Threat: Rubbish and handouts** (24,000+): In Saudi Arabia, more than 24,000 baboons now live around towns, feeding at dumps, farms and tourist spots. This brings damage, attacks and disease worries. [10][25]
- **Threat: Caught for research (in the past)**: Hamadryas baboons were once collected in great numbers for medical research. Today they face only a few local threats. [2]
- **Helping: Tolerant neighbours** (93.9%): In the Borena-Sayint survey, 93.9% of households had not killed baboons in revenge for lost livestock. [37]
- **Helping: No feeding, better bins**: Researchers recommend public education, careful waste management and non-lethal ways to keep baboons away. [25]
- **Helping: Better herding**: Community-based plans, better livestock care and joint monitoring with park staff can cut losses. [37]
- **Helping: Tracking with GPS**: GPS collars on Saudi baboons show how towns change their travels, which helps plan management. [10]
- **Guinea baboon** (NT): The only baboon not listed as Least Concern. Like the hamadryas, its females rather than males tend to leave home, and its groups can gather in the hundreds. [38][4]
- **Olive baboon** (LC): The most widespread baboon. It meets and interbreeds with hamadryas baboons in Ethiopia. [33][31][1]
- **Chacma baboon** (LC): The big baboon of southern Africa. [34][8]
- **Gelada** (LC): Not a true baboon, but a relative from Ethiopia’s highlands with a multi-level society too. [39][30]

### Hamadryas baboon signals

- Long stare: A threat. Never stare back at a wild baboon. [2][1]
- Tension yawn showing canines: A warning to a rival or predator, mostly given by males. [2][1]
- Eyelid flash: Pale eyelids flashed during a stare: back off. [3]
- Head bobbing: Another threat signal, often with a stare. [2][1]
- Lip-smacking: Friendly and reassuring, a way to calm a tense moment. [1][2]
- Teeth-chattering: Also friendly and reassuring. [1][3]
- Grooming: Relaxed bonding. In a unit, most grooming goes to the leader male. [1][2]
- Shrill bark: Alarm at a sudden disturbance, from anyone but adult males. [1]

### Family

- **Adult male**: Silver-grey cape, white cheek whiskers, pink-red face and seat. About 21.5 kg. (Leads a one-male unit, or follows one as a “follower” male) [1]
- **Adult female**: Olive-brown with no cape, and about half a male’s weight at around 9.4 kg. (Lives in a male’s unit; most move to a new unit only when another male takes over) [1][19]
- **Juvenile**: Olive-brown like an adult female. Young males keep this look until they are full grown at about 10 years. (Plays, chases and grooms with others in the morning) [1][2]
- **Mother with infant**: Newborns weigh 600–900 g and have a black coat, which turns olive-brown by about 6 months to a year. (Clings to its mother’s fur and rides along as the troop moves) [1][2]

### Hamadryas baboon quiz

1. What is the silver-grey cape on an adult male called? **A mantle.** The mantle runs from the cheeks over the shoulders and back. It only grows once a male is full size. [1]
2. Which Egyptian god was the hamadryas baboon sacred to? **Thoth.** Thoth was the god of writing, wisdom and the moon. [23][24]
3. What colour is a newborn hamadryas baboon? **Black.** Babies are born black and turn olive-brown by about 6 months to a year. [1]
4. Where do hamadryas baboons usually sleep? **On cliff ledges.** Steep cliffs keep them out of reach of leopards. One band used 11 different cliffs. [17][18]
5. What is the basic family group called? **A one-male unit.** One leader male, 1–9 females and their young. [1]
6. How did scientists in 2020 trace mummified baboons to Punt? **From oxygen and strontium in their bodies.** These chemical clues act like a geographic fingerprint of where an animal grew up. [23]
7. About how much does an adult male weigh? **≈21.5 kg.** More than twice a female’s ≈9.4 kg. [1]
8. What does a long stare mean to a hamadryas baboon? **A threat.** That’s why you should never stare at a wild baboon. [2]
9. How did hamadryas baboons get to Arabia? **They crossed from Africa on their own.** DNA shows they crossed, probably at Bab-el-Mandab, 130,000–12,000 years ago. [21]
10. Which two foods were eaten every month at Filoha, Ethiopia? **Doum palm and acacia.** They were the only plants eaten in every month of the year. [12]
11. How many teeth does a baboon have? **32.** 32, including 4 canines. [7]
12. If an animal bites or scratches you, how long should you wash it with soap and water? **At least 15 minutes.** Then tell an adult and see a doctor straight away. [35]

### Sources (checked 2026-10-16)

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2. [San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. Hamadryas baboon (Papio hamadryas). Animals & Plants.](https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/hamadryas-baboon)
3. [Huber HF, Ford SM, Bartlett TQ, Nathanielsz PW (2015). Increased aggressive and affiliative display behavior in intrauterine growth restricted baboons. Journal of Medical Primatology 44(3):143–157.](https://doi.org/10.1111/jmp.12172)
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6. [Jacobs GH, Deegan JF (1999). Uniformity of colour vision in Old World monkeys. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 266(1432):2023–2028.](https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.1999.0881)
7. [Casteleyn C, Wydooghe E, Bakker J (2023). Osteology of the hamadryas baboon (Papio hamadryas). Animals 13(19):3124.](https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13193124)
8. [Shefferly N (2004). Papio ursinus (chacma baboon). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.](https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Papio_ursinus/)
9. [Liu DX, Gilbert MH, Wang X, Didier PJ, Veazey RS (2012). Reactive amyloidosis associated with ischial callosititis: a report with histology of ischial callosities in rhesus macaques. Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation 24(6):1184–1188.](https://doi.org/10.1177/1040638712463919)
10. [Mir ZR, Pebsworth P, Hardman J, Ala'amri S, Alahmari A, Almalki K, Boug A (2026). Effects of urban association on the movement ecology of hamadryas baboons (Papio hamadryas) in Saudi Arabia. PLOS One 21(7):e0354133.](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0354133)
11. [GBIF Secretariat. Papio hamadryas (Linnaeus, 1758). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy.](https://www.gbif.org/species/5219586)
12. [Swedell L, Hailemeskel G, Schreier A (2008). Composition and seasonality of diet in wild hamadryas baboons: preliminary findings from Filoha. Folia Primatologica 79(6):476–490.](https://doi.org/10.1159/000164431)
13. [Schreier AL (2010). Feeding ecology, food availability and ranging patterns of wild hamadryas baboons at Filoha. Folia Primatologica 81(3):129–145.](https://doi.org/10.1159/000316562)
14. [Schreier AL, Schlaht RM, Swedell L (2019). Meat eating in wild hamadryas baboons: opportunistic trade-offs between insects and vertebrates. American Journal of Primatology 81(7):e23029.](https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.23029)
15. [Hammerschmidt K, Fischer J (2019). Baboon vocal repertoires and the evolution of primate vocal diversity. Journal of Human Evolution 126:1–13.](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.10.010)
16. [Pedruzzi L, Maglieri V, Oliveri P, Francesconi M, Riccobono R, Bigozzi F, Lemasson A, Palagi E (2025). Inertia and rapid divergence in the evolution of yawning: a comparison between two closely related but socially different monkeys. American Journal of Primatology 87(6):e70049.](https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.70049)
17. [Henriquez MC, Amann A, Zimmerman D, et al. (2021). Home range, sleeping site use, and band fissioning in hamadryas baboons: improved estimates using GPS collars. American Journal of Primatology 83(5):e23248.](https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.23248)
18. [Schreier A, Swedell L (2008). Use of palm trees as a sleeping site for hamadryas baboons (Papio hamadryas hamadryas) in Ethiopia. American Journal of Primatology 70(2):107–113.](https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.20465)
19. [Swedell L, Saunders J, Schreier A, Davis B, Tesfaye T, Pines M (2011). Female "dispersal" in hamadryas baboons: transfer among social units in a multilevel society. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 145(3):360–370.](https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.21504)
20. [AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database. Papio hamadryas (hamadryas baboon), entry 02755.](https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Papio_hamadryas)
21. [Kopp GH, Roos C, Butynski TM, Wildman DE, Alagaili AN, Groeneveld LF, Zinner D (2014). Out of Africa, but how and when? The case of hamadryas baboons (Papio hamadryas). Journal of Human Evolution 76:154–164.](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.08.003)
22. [Winney BJ, Hammond RL, Macasero W, Flores B, Boug A, Biquand V, Biquand S, Bruford MW (2004). Crossing the Red Sea: phylogeography of the hamadryas baboon, Papio hamadryas hamadryas. Molecular Ecology 13(9):2819–2827.](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2004.02288.x)
23. [Dominy NJ, Ikram S, Moritz GL, Wheatley PV, Christensen JN, Chipman JW, Koch PL (2020). Mummified baboons reveal the far reach of early Egyptian mariners. eLife 9:e60860.](https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.60860)
24. [Grathwol F, Roos C, Zinner D, et al. (2023). Adulis and the transshipment of baboons during classical antiquity. eLife 12:e87513.](https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.87513)
25. [Alghamdi S, Zinner D, AlMalki M, et al. (2025). Coexistence of humans and hamadryas baboons in Al-Baha region, Saudi Arabia: emotional, social, and financial aspects. Animals 16(1):47.](https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16010047)
26. [Schreier AL, Swedell L (2009). The fourth level of social structure in a multi-level society: ecological and social functions of clans in hamadryas baboons. American Journal of Primatology 71(11):948–955.](https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.20736)
27. [Städele V, Pines M, Swedell L, Vigilant L (2016). The ties that bind: maternal kin bias in a multilevel primate society despite natal dispersal by both sexes. American Journal of Primatology 78(7):731–744.](https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.22537)
28. [Schreier AL, Swedell L (2012). Ecology and sociality in a multilevel society: ecological determinants of spatial cohesion in hamadryas baboons. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 148(4):580–588.](https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.22076)
29. [Van Neer W, Udrescu M, Peters J, De Cupere B, Pasquali S, Porcier S (2023). Palaeopathological and demographic data reveal conditions of keeping of the ancient baboons at Gabbanat el-Qurud (Thebes, Egypt). PLOS ONE 18(12):e0294934.](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0294934)
30. [Grueter CC, Chapais B, Zinner D (2012). Evolution of multilevel social systems in nonhuman primates and humans. International Journal of Primatology 33(5):1002–1037.](https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-012-9618-z)
31. [Shefferly N (2004). Papio anubis (olive baboon). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.](https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Papio_anubis/)
32. [Gippoliti S (2019). Papio hamadryas. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T16019A17953082.](https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T16019A17953082.en)
33. [Wallis J (2020). Papio anubis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T40647A17953200.](https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T40647A17953200.en)
34. [Sithaldeen R (2019). Papio ursinus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T16022A168568698.](https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T16022A168568698.en)
35. [World Health Organization (2024). Rabies: fact sheet.](https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/rabies)
36. [Wikidata. Hamadryas baboon (Q189484).](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q189484)
37. [Ibrahim H, Bekele A, Yazezew D, Moges A, Chane M, Mekonnen A (2026). Assessment of livestock depredation by hamadryas baboons (Papio hamadryas) in and around Borena-Sayint National Park, northern Ethiopia. BMC Zoology 11:26.](https://doi.org/10.1186/s40850-026-00283-1)
38. [Wallis J, Alonso C, Barlow C, et al. (2021). Papio papio. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T16018A190269269.](https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T16018A190269269.en)
39. [Gippoliti S, Mekonnen A, Burke R, Nguyen N, Fashing PJ (2025). Theropithecus gelada. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2025: e.T21744A274974485.](https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2025-1.RLTS.T21744A274974485.en)

## Measurements & details

- **Length:** 70-140 cm
- **Weight:** 10-37 kg
- **Lifespan:** 20-30 years
- **Litter Size:** 1-2
- **Gestation:** 170-180 days

## Diet & Feeding

Hamadryas baboons eat mostly plants: grass, seeds, roots, fruit and flowers. They also eat insects, and meat is a rare extra.

- **Primary Foods:** grass blades, roots, fruits, insects, flowers
- **Foraging Method:** Foraging

## Ecological connections

- **Eaten by:** [Leopard](https://www.snappit.app/explore/leopard) (*Panthera pardus*) — Leopards are stealthy hunters that can ambush baboons in trees or on the ground.
- **Eaten by:** Verreaux's Eagle (*Aquila verreauxii*) — Eagles sometimes snatch young baboons from rocky ledges.
- **Eats:** Umbrella thorn acacia (*Acacia tortilis*) — Baboons consume the pods, leaves, and flowers of this drought-resistant tree.

## Traits

- [Wildlife](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/wildlife): Wildlife encompasses all undomesticated animal and plant life existing in their natural habitats.
- [Furry](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/furry): Furry describes animals possessing a dense covering of soft hair or fur.
- [Social](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/social): Social animals live in organized groups, cooperating for survival benefits such as foraging, defense, and raising offspring.
- [Omnivorous](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/omnivorous): This trait identifies organisms whose diet includes both plant and animal matter.
- [Tool Use](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/tool-use): This trait describes organisms that manipulate external objects to achieve a specific goal.
- [Keystone Species](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/keystone-species): Describes a species whose presence and role have a disproportionately large effect on its environment.

## Collections

- [Mammals](https://www.snappit.app/explore/collections/mammals)

## Safety

**Danger:** 3/5 · Moderate

Always observe baboons from a safe distance and never try to touch or feed them.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How to identify Hamadryas baboon?

Compare ears, muzzle, tail, feet and coat markings. Size is hard to judge without something nearby for scale, and young mammals may not have adult coloring yet. Mammal Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

### How long is Hamadryas baboon?

70-140 cm

### How much does Hamadryas baboon weigh?

10-37 kg

### How long does Hamadryas baboon live?

20-30 years

### What does Hamadryas baboon eat?

Hamadryas baboons eat mostly plants: grass, seeds, roots, fruit and flowers. They also eat insects, and meat is a rare extra.

### Where is Hamadryas baboon usually found?

Dry, rocky country: semi-desert, steppe and grassland with cliffs and rocky areas.

### How many babies does Hamadryas baboon usually have?

1-2

## Where to spot

- [Bronx Zoo](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/bronx-zoo) — New York, US · Zoo
- [Colchester Zoo](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/colchester-zoo) — England, GB · Zoo
- [Prospect Park Zoo](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/prospect-park-zoo) — New York, US · Zoo
- [Zoo Knoxville](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/zoo-knoxville) — Tennessee, US · Zoo
- [Zoo de Castellar](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/zoo-de-castellar) — Andalusia, ES · Zoo
- [Howletts Wild Animal Park](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/howletts-wild-animal-park) — England, GB · Zoo

[View all places to see Baboon](https://www.snappit.app/guides/where-to-see/baboon)

## More Mammals

- [Eastern Fox Squirrel](https://www.snappit.app/explore/eastern-fox-squirrel) (*Sciurus niger*)
- [Eastern Cottontail](https://www.snappit.app/explore/eastern-cottontail) (*Sylvilagus floridanus*)
- [Eastern Chipmunk](https://www.snappit.app/explore/eastern-chipmunk) (*Tamias striatus*)
- [California Ground Squirrel](https://www.snappit.app/explore/california-ground-squirrel) (*Otospermophilus beecheyi*)

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Source: [Hamadryas baboon: Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/baboon)