Species profile
About the yellow baboon
The yellow baboon is more lightly built than the olive baboon, with longer legs, a slimmer muzzle and a pale yellowish-brown coat. It takes over across southern, eastern and western Tanzania, and the two species meet and interbreed in a narrow zone in the centre of the country.
It is the baboon of Mahale, Nyerere, Mikumi and Ruaha, where troops forage along rivers and lakeshores. On the Lake Tanganyika shore at Mahale, troops are often seen on the beach itself, turning stones for invertebrates.
Life in the wild
Behavior & relationships
Behavior
Diurnal and terrestrial while foraging, sleeping in tall riverine trees. Troops travel several kilometres a day along established routes.
Social life
Large multi-male troops with female matrilines and a shifting male hierarchy; grooming networks are the visible currency of troop politics.
What makes it remarkable
Special features
A slender build and long legs suited to travelling far each day, and a paler, more golden coat than the olive baboon.