The response of commensal Hamadryas baboons to seasonal reduction in food provisioning

Boug, Ahmed; Biquand, Sylvain; Biquand-Guyot, Véronique; Kamal, K.

doi:10.3406/revec.1994.2480

Cited by 4 publications

References 4 publications

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A study on the social structure and dispersal patterns of hamadryas baboons living in a commensal group at Taif, Saudi Arabia

et al. 2007

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Three levels of hamadryas social structure--the one male unit (OMU), the band, and the troop--have been observed at all sites studied, but a fourth--the clan--has been observed at only one site, Erer-Gota, Ethiopia, during a longitudinal check of the dispersion of identified individuals. The clan is important since it appears to provide the basis for male philopatry, although comparative data is needed from other sites to confirm this. We studied a huge commensal group of hamadryas baboons (over 600 animals) in Saudi Arabia. We put ear tags on baboons between 1998 and 2004 and analyzed social structure, relying on the interactions of these tagged animals by focusing especially on their dispersal patterns from OMUs. OMU membership tended to be looser than that of the Ethiopian hamadryas. Females tended to shift between OMUs on an individual basis in our study group, whereas the collapse of an OMU was a major occasion of adult female transfer in Ethiopia. We found neither stable bands (a "band" in our study group was defined as a regional assemblage of OMUs) nor clans that lasted for several years. Some OMUs moved and transferred into neighboring areas over both the short and long term. Further, some post-adolescent males appeared to move out of the study area. The ratio of adult females in an OMU in our study group was larger than for any other documented study site, and this may be the reason for enhanced female transfer between OMUs. A large proportion of the adolescent females showed no clear membership to OMUs, and no "initial units" (commonly observed in Ethiopia) were discernible. The ease with which young males acquired adult females at the study site must have disrupted the formation of a clan, a "male-bonded society."

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A study on the social structure and dispersal patterns of hamadryas baboons living in a commensal group at Taif, Saudi Arabia

et al. 2007

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The Development of Primate Raiding: Implications for Management and Conservation

2010

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Ecosystems and habitats are fast becoming human dominated, which means that more species, including primates, are compelled to exploit new human resources to survive and compete. Primate “pests” pose major management and conservation challenges. I here present the results from a unique opportunity to document how well-known individuals and groups respond to the new opportunity to feed on human foods. Data are from a long-term study of a single population in Kenya at Kekopey, near Gilgil, Kenya. Some of the naïve research baboons became raiders while others did not. I compare diet, activity budgets, and home range use of raiders and nonraiders both simultaneously, after the incursion of agriculture, and historically compared to the period before agriculture appeared. I present measures of the relative benefits (female reproduction) and costs (injuries, mortality, and survivorship) of incorporating human food into the diet and discuss why the baboons raid and their variations in raiding tendencies. Guarding and chasing are evaluated as control techniques. I also suggest conflict mitigation strategies by identifying the most likely options in different contexts. I end with a proposal for a rapid field assessment of human wildlife conflict involving primates.

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A Low-Cost Manipulation of Food Resources Reduces Spatial Overlap Between Baboons (Papio ursinus) and Humans in Conflict

et al. 2011

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Competition over food and space is a primary driver of human-wildlife conflict. In the Cape Peninsula, South Africa, chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) have adapted to a human-modified environment, sleeping on the urban edge and raiding anthropogenic food sources on a daily basis. Human monitors, who herd baboons away from residential areas, are currently the preferred method of conflict mitigation. However, this method is costly and suffers from short-term interruptions, wherein the unexpected absence of monitors may lead to unprepared residents using lethal force to deter raiding baboons. Elsewhere in the chacma baboon distribution (in nonconflict areas), artificial food patches have been shown to alter troop movements drastically by eliciting consistent leadership behavior from alpha males. We investigated whether an artificial patch could be used to draw baboons away from the urban environment in the absence of monitors. First, we introduced an artificial food patch into natural land within a troop's range and monitored movement and activity patterns. Although the troop utilized the patch, there was not a significant decline in use of the urban space as they continued to favor food in urban waste sites. Maintaining the patch, we then restricted access to these waste sites using wire-mesh fencing and observed a significant reduction in the time the troop spent within the urban space. In both experimental phases we observed consistent leadership, with dominant individuals arriving first at the patch and monopolizing food items thereon. Thus, we recommend the combined strategy of reducing raiding incentives in conjunction with provisioning as a short-term, costeffective strategy to alter a baboon troop's movement patterns and raiding frequency.

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The response of commensal Hamadryas baboons to seasonal reduction in food provisioning

Cited by 4 publications

References 4 publications

A study on the social structure and dispersal patterns of hamadryas baboons living in a commensal group at Taif, Saudi Arabia

A study on the social structure and dispersal patterns of hamadryas baboons living in a commensal group at Taif, Saudi Arabia

The Development of Primate Raiding: Implications for Management and Conservation

A Low-Cost Manipulation of Food Resources Reduces Spatial Overlap Between Baboons (Papio ursinus) and Humans in Conflict

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