Head and body length ranges from 28 to 38 inches in females and 30-36 inches in males. Weight is from 99 pounds to 176 pounds. Captives may be heavier. Face bare, skin pink in infancy darkening to black in adulthood. Baldness is frequent in adults, typically a triangle on the forehead of male, more extensive in females.
Hair color is black.
Western and Central Africa, north of river Zaire, from Senegal to Tanzania, from 14 degrees north to 10 degrees south. Found from sea level to 6500 feet. In long dry seasons, buds and blossoms, soft pitch, stems, galls, honey, bark and resin, seeds and nuts are also eaten. Animal prey makes up as much as five percent of the diet, with social insects, such as ants and termites, providing the largest amounts. Feeding is essentially an individual activity, but after a cooperative hunt may share morsels in response to begging by others.