Baby baboons and toddlers are as naughty as human children!

In many ways baboons have a lot of human traits, amongst others a very social behavior (but they can be selfish like us too!). They have been observed to adopt orphaned young children amongst them (in fact studies show that orphans are almost always adpted), so they seem to have developed a sense of “morality” that is otherwise very rare and unusual, and in most cases unthinkable in the animal world. The differences between humans and animals are often more blurred than we imagine it.

Baboons are able to acquire orthographic processing skills, which form part of the ability to read! Baboons are very smart.

There are 5 kinds of baboons. The baboons on our reserve are chacma baboons.

Their only predators are lions, hyenas and leopards (and in some areas humans). They are a tough prey to leopards though, as often large males will try to fend them off, and sometimes even pursuing a leopard.

Below a photo that Justine took a few days ago, of a toddler baboon, near the staff village. He’s (or she’s) up to no good, that’s obvious!