The Guinea baboon

Papio papio

The Guinea baboon, Papio papio, is a primate from the Cercopithedicae family and lives in the African savanna. It spends most of its time on the ground. It can travel up to 8 km on four legs and only climbs up tall trees to sleep.

Lifestyle

These omnivorous, gregarious monkeys live in hierarchical groups of 8 to 200 individuals in the savannahs and forests of East Africa, Guinea, Senegal, Gambia, Mali and Mauritania. Each clan has its own territory.

Baboons live in matriarchal societies. Despite the displays of strength by dominant males, it is the females who dominate and their offspring who form dynasties. They manage conflicts, and in the wild, it is they who explore territories and share knowledge of trees and their fruits.

Distinctive features

Of the five species of baboons, the Guinea baboon is the smallest. Its black, hairless face is elongated like a dog's snout. The male is much larger and heavier than the female and has long canines that can measure up to 5 cm. Its coat is denser and thicker than that of the females, especially on the nape of the neck and shoulders.

Baboons' bottoms are bare with calluses. During the breeding season, the females' bottoms become red and swollen, signalling to the males that it is time to mate!

Anecdote

The grooming of young and adult animals has an essential function within a group, not only for reasons of hygiene (as they rid themselves of parasites) but also to ease tension and strengthen the cohesion of the clan. Researchers have shown that these grooming sessions stimulate the production of endorphins, which provide a feeling of well-being.

Baboons in the Muséum's zoos

In the Parc zoologique de Paris

The group of Guinea baboons at the Parc zoologique de Paris consists of around fifty individuals. Uyuni is the female most sought after by the males, particularly Chud, the dominant male.

À la Réserve zoologique de la Haute-Touche

The baboons of the Réserve zoologique de la Haute-Touche are among the last baboons in Casamance, in southern Senegal. Feeding readily on seeds and roots, they are a scourge on cultivated fields. Farmers therefore hunt these destroyers of crops.

The founding members of this group come from a larger troop originating from the Parc zoologique de Paris. A behavioural study based on very rigorous selection criteria, focusing on the intensity of social bonds within grooming groups, made it possible to avoid disrupting the original structure while establishing a socially stable group at Haute-Touche reserve.

Baboons reproduce very well in zoos, and to avoid excessive inbreeding, an international list of all individuals and their family relationships is kept up to date.

Babouin de Guinée à la Réserve de la Haute-Touche
© MNHN - G. Balemboy

Babouin de Guinée - Parc zoologique de Paris
© MNHN - F.-G. Grandin

Babouin de Guinée sur un rocher. — Babouins de Guinée
© MNHN - F.-G. Grandin

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