Olive baboon

The **olive baboon** (*Papio anubis*), cried the **Anubis baboon** an aw, is a memmer o the faimily Cercopithecidae (Auld Warld pugs). The species is the maist wide-rangin o aw baboons, bein foond in 25 kintras athort Africae, extendin frae Mali eastwaird tae Ethiopie an Tanzanie. Isolatit populations are present in some muntainous regions o the Sahara an aw. It bides in savannahs, steppes, an forests. The common name is springheidit frae its coat colour, that is a shade o green-grey at a distance. A variety o communications, vocal an non-vocal, facilitate a complex social structur.

## Pheesical chairacteristics

The olive baboon is cried for its coat, that, at a distance, is a shade o green-grey. Its alternative name comes frae the Egyptian god Anubis, that wis aften shawn as a dug heid resemblin the dug-lik muzzle o the baboon. At closer range, its coat is multicolourt, due tae rings o yellae-broun an black on the hairs. The hair on the baboon's face, houiver, is coarser an ranges frae dark grey tae black. This coloration is shared bi baith sexes, awtho males hae a mane o langer hair that tapers doun tae ordinar lenth alang the back.

Besides the mane, the male olive baboon differs frae the female in terms o size an wicht, an canine tuith size; males are, on average,  taw while staundin an females measur  in hicht. The olive baboon is ane o the lairgest species o pug; anerly the chacma baboon an the mandrill attain seemilar sizes. The heid-an-bouk lenth can range frae , wi a species average o aroond . At the shouder on aw fowers, females average  against males, which average . The teepical wicht range for baith sexes is reportitly , wi males averagin  an females averagin . Some males mey wich as hintle as .

Lik ither baboons, the olive baboon haes a elongatit, dug-lik muzzle. In fact, alang wi the muzzle, the animal's tail () an fower-legged gait can mak baboons seem very canine. The tail amaist leuks as if it is breuken, as it is erect for the first quairter, efter which it drops doun shairply. The bare patch o a baboon's rump, famously seen in cartoons an movies, is a guid deal smawer in the olive baboon. The olive baboon, lik maist cercopithecines, haes a cheek pouch wi which tae store fuid.

## Distribution an habitat
The species inhabits a strip o 25 equatorial African kintras, very nearly rangin frae the east tae wast coasts o the continent. The exact boondars o this strip are no clearly defined, as the species' territory owerlaps wi that o ither baboon species. In mony places, this haes resultit in cross-breedin atween species. For ensaumple, considerable hybridization haes occurred atween the olive baboon an the hamadryas baboon in Ethiopie. Cross-breedin wi the yellae baboon an the Guinea baboon haes been observit an aw. Awtho this haes been notit, the hybrids hae no as yet been well studiet.

Throuoot its wide range, the olive baboon can be foond in a nummer o different habitats. It is uisually classifee'd as savanna-dwellin, livin in the wide plains o the grassland. The grassland, especially those near open firthland, dae mak up a lairge pairt o its habitat, but the baboon inhabits rainforests an deserts an aw. Uganda an the Democratic Republic o the Congo, for instance, baith support olive baboon populations in dense tropical forests.

## Behaviour an ecologie

### Social structur
The olive baboon lives in groups o 15 tae 150, made up o a few males, mony females, an thair young. Each baboon haes a social rankin somewhaur in the group, dependin on its dominance. Female dominance is hereditary, wi dochters haein nearly the same rank as thair mithers, an adult females formin the core o the social seestem. Female relatives form thair awn subgroups in the troop. Related females are lairgely friendly tae ilk ither. Thay tend tae stay close thegither an gruim ane anither, an team up in aggressive encoonters athin the troop. Female kin form thir strang bonds acause thay dinnae emigrate frae thair natal groups.

Occasionally, groups mey split up when thay acome sae lairge that competeetion for resoorces is problematic, but even then, members o matrilines tend tae stick thegither. Dominant females procur mair fuid, mateins, an supporters. Amang olive baboons in Tanzanie, heich-rankin females gie birth at shorter intervals tae infants wi a heicher survival rate, an thair dochters tend tae matur faster than law-rankin females. Housomeivver, thir heich-rankin females appear tae hae a higher probability o miscarriages an aw an some heich-rankin matrilines hae inexplicably law growthiness. Ane theory suggests this occurs due tae stress on the heich-rankin females, awtho this theory is controversial.

A female aften forms a lang-lastin social relationship wi a male in her troop, kent as a "friendship". Thir nansexual affiliative friendships benefit baith the male an female. Males benefit frae thir relationships acause thay are uisually formed suin efter he immigrates intae a new group, an helps the male integrate intae the group mair easily. He coud potentially en up matein wi his female friend in the futur an aw. Females gain pertection frae threats tae thairsels an thair infants (if thay hae ony). Males occasionally "baby-sit" for thair female friends, sae she can feed an forage freely athoot the burden o haein tae cairy or watch the infant. Sexually receptive females an newly immigratit males can form sic friendships. Thir relationships are whiles endurin an the pair grooms an remains close tae ilk ither. Thay traivel, forage, sleep, an raise infants thegither an aw, as well as fecht thegither against aggressive conspecifics.

Males establish thair dominance mair forcefully than females. A male disperses, or leaves his natal group an jyns anither group, efter reachin sexual maturity. Adult males are vera competitive wi ilk ither an fecht for access tae females. Heicher dominance means better access tae matein an earlier access tae fuid, sae naturally a great deal o fechtin ower rank occurs, wi younger males constantly treein tae rise in poseetion. Acause females stay wi thair groups thair entire lives, an males emigrate tae ithers, aften a new male challenges an aulder ane for dominance. Frequently, when aulder baboons drop in the social hierarchy, thay muive tae anither tribe. The younger males wha pushed thaim doun aften bullies an harasses thaim. Aulder males tend tae hae mair supportive an equal relationships than those o the younger males. The umwhile micht form coalitions against the latter.

Despite bein hierarchical, baboons appear tae be "democratic" when it comes tae decidin the direction o collective muivement. Indwallers are mair likely tae follae when multiple decision-makkers gree on wha direction tae go rather than simply follaein dominant indwallers.

### Reproduction an parentin

Females are sexually matur at seiven tae aicht year auld, an males at seiven tae 10 years. The beginnin o a female's ovulation is a signal tae the males that she is ready tae mate. Durin ovulation, the skin o the female's anogenital aurie swells an turns a bricht reid/pink. The swellin maks it difficult tae muive an increases the female's chance o microbial or parasitic infection. Females wi mair swollen anogenital auries reproduce while younger, produce mair affspring per year, an those affspring hae a better chance o survivin. Thir females attract mair males an aw, an are mair likely tae cause aggressive fechts atween thaim. Olive baboons tend tae mate promiscuously. A male forms a matein consortship wi a estrous female, stayin close tae an copulatin wi her. Males gaird thair pairtner against ony ither male treein tae mate wi her. Unless a female is in a multiday consortship, she aften copulates wi mair nor ane male each day. Multiple copulations are no necessar for reproduction, but mey function tae mak the actual paternity o the female's affspring ambiguous. This lack o paternal certainty coud help reduce the occurrence o infanticide. Occasionally, male olive baboons monopolize a female for her entire period o probable conception. The male protects his female frae bein matit bi ither males durin consortship.

Newborns hae black natal coats an bricht pink skin. Females are the primar caregiers o infants, but males play a role an aw. In its first few days, the infant mey be unable tae stay attached tae its mither an relies on her for pheesical support. Housomeivver, its grasp graws stranger bi its first week an it is able tae cling tae its mither's fur bi itsel. Bi twa weeks, the infant begins tae splore its surroondins for short periods, but stays near her. The distance the infant spends awa frae its mither increases the aulder it gets. In general, heicher-rankin females are uisually mair relaxed parents than females o lawer rank, which uisually keep thair affspring close tae thaim. Housomeivver, this difference anerly lasts for approximately the first aicht weeks o a infant's life. Olive baboons dae no seem tae practice co-operative parentin, but a female mey gruim an infant that is no hers. Subadult an juvenile females are mair likely tae care for anither's young, as thay hae no yet producit affspring o thair awn. Ane theory for why immatur females tend tae seek oot infants is that thay can prepare for thair futur roles as mithers. Infant baboons born tae first-time mithers suffer heicher mortality than those born tae experiencit mithers, which suggests that prior experience in carin for infants is important. Adult males in the groups care for the infants an aw, as thay are likely tae be relatit tae thaim. Males gruim infants, reducin the amoont o parasites thay mey hae, an calm thaim when thay are stressed. Thay mey pertect thaim frae predators an aw, sic as chimpanzees. Housomeivver, adult males exploit infants an uise thaim tae reduce the likeliheid that ither males will threaten thaim.

### Communication

Olive baboons communicate wi various vocalisations an facial expressions. Throuoot the day, baboons o aw ages emit the "basic grunt". Adults gie a range o caws. The "roargrunt" is made bi adult males displayin tae ilk ither. The "cough-bark", an the "cough geck" are made when law-fleein birds or humans thay dae no ken are sichtit. A "wa-hoo" caw is made in response tae predators or neebourin groups at nicht an durin stressful situations. Ither vocalisations include "breuken gruntin" (law-volume, quick series o grunts made durin relatively calm aggressive encoonters), "pant-grunts" (made when aggressive encoonters escalate), "shrill barks" (loud caws gien when potential threats appear suddent), an "screams" (continuous heich-pitch soonds respondin tae strang emotions). The maist common facial expression o the olive baboon is "lipsmackin", which is associatit wi a nummer o behaviours. "Ear flattenin", "ees narraeed", "heid shakin", "jaw-clappin", lipsmackin, an "tongue protrusion"  are uised when baboons are greetin ilk ither, an are whiles made wi a "rear present". "Eebrou raisin", "molar grindin", "starin", an "yawnin"  are uised tae threaten ither baboons. A submissive baboon responds wi displays sic as the "fear grin", the "rigid crouch", an "tail erect".

### Diet

Ane major raison for its widespread success is that the olive baboon is omnivorous. As sic it is able tae fynd nutrition in amaist ony environs, an it is able tae adapt wi different foragin tactics. For instance, the olive baboon in grassland goes aboot fyndin fuid differently frae ane in a forest. The baboon forages on aw levels o a environs, abuin an beneath the grund an in the canopy o forests. Maist ainimals anerly leuk for fuid at ane level; an arboreal species sic as a lemur daes no leuk for fuid on the grund. The olive baboon searches as wide a aurie as it can, an it eats virtually iverything it fynds.

The diet teepically includes a lairge variety o plants, an invertebrates an smaw mammals, as well as birds. The olive baboon eats leaves, gress, ruits, bark, flouers, fruit, lichens, tubers, seeds, mushrooms, corms, an rhizomes. Corms an rhizomes are especially important in times o drocht, acause gress luises a great deal o its nutritional value. In dry, arid regions, sic as the northeastren deserts, smaw invertebrates lik insects, speeders, an scorpions fill oot its diet.

The olive baboon actively hunts prey an aw, frae smaw rodents an hares tae tods an ither primates. Its leemit is uisually smaw antelope, sic as Thomson's gazelle an an aw, rarely, sheep, goats, an live chickens, which mey amoont tae 33.5% o its fuid frae huntin. Huntin is uisually a group activity, wi baith males an females pairticipatin. Interestinly, this seestematic predation wis apparently developit recently. In a field study, sic behaviour wis observit as stairtin wi the males o ane troop an spreadin throu aw ages an sexes.

In Eritrea, the olive baboon haes formed a seembiotic relationship wi that kintra's endangered elephant population. The baboons uise the watter holes dug bi the elephants, whilk the elephants uise the tree-tap baboons as a early warnin seestem.

## Conservation status
The olive baboon is leetit as least concern bi the IUCN acause "this species is vera widespread an abundant an awtho persecutit as a crop raider thare are nae major threats believit tae be resultin in a range-wide population decline". Despite persecution, the baboon is still widespread an numerous. Housomeivver, competeetion an disease hae possibly led tae fewer baboons in closed forests. It haes been actively persecutit as a pest.

## References

## Freemit airtins
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