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Gelada baboon - THEROPITHECUS GELADA

Endangered

Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
Subclass: True Mammals (Eutheria)
Order: First Order Mammals (Primatea)
Family: Cercopithecidae.

The word "Baboon": "Baboon" probably comes from French "babuin," which means a "gaping face." "Gelada" possibly comes from an Arabic word meaning "mane."

Location: Mountainous regions in northern Ethiopia in Africa.

Habitat: Terrestrial. Rocky upland areas.

Description: The deeply grooved face is dark brown and the nostrils, which are set well back in the nose, are turned upward. The body has three hairless areas: a central area beneath the throat, and 2 symmetrical red areas on the chest (hourglass-shaped in females). There are four round gray calluses at the rear. The short tail has a dark brown tuft of longer hairs at the tip. The male has a thick mane that hangs halfway down his back. Length of head and body up to 30 in, tail to 20 in, weight to 50 lbs, females about half the size of males.

Behavior: The gelada baboon forms in groups numbering up to 400 individuals, but the basic social unit is the family, consisting of a large adult male, his female entourage (up to a dozen or more), and their young. The groups do not have a clearly defined territory, and will move as much as half a mile a day in a line parallel to a cliff. By day the gelada baboon descends to grasslands or pastures foraging for roots, bulbs, grass and other green plants, and small animals. It only rarely eats insects. It remains close to the rocky terrain, where at night the group splits up to sleep on small ledges on the vertical cliffs.

Reproduction: Unknown.

Note: This species is threatened with extinction.