One of the 2 baboons on WAnimals
Mammals · Primates · Cercopithecidae
Chacma Baboon
Papio ursinus
Least Concern
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk.
The chacma baboon is the largest of the baboons and the heaviest primate in southern Africa. It lives in troops of between 20 and 100 animals with several males and several females, structured by stable matrilineal hierarchies. It is extraordinarily flexible: it feeds on grasses, roots, fruit, insects, eggs and occasionally kids or antelope calves, and on the Cape Peninsula it has been documented foraging for shellfish in the intertidal zone. Its adaptability leads to frequent conflict with people.
Weight
12 kg – 45 kg
Size
50 cm – 1.2 m
Life expectancy
30 years
