Olive Baboons Essay

Compared to the Mandrills, olive baboons are also foragers that look for food, but the slight difference between these two primates is in what they eat. Olive baboons are both fructivorous and omnivores. They eat most foods that are available to them at the time (what season their environment is in) but mandrills prefer young shoots and leaves because it is easier to digest. Mandrills are also omnivores that consume roots, lizards, other small specimens like antelope, and they can eat fruit. Both of these species grunt in terms of vocalization. Unlike the rocky areas of the white rocks, Mandrills live in an area populated by dense trees and vegetation, so they must grunt to communicate their location. Mandrills and Olive baboons both form large groups that help with their survival and livelihood. More eyes to look out for predators may mean more safety for the group. Also, like Olive baboons the females in Mandrill troops passes down their rank to their offspring. A higher rank is beneficial because it allows for more opportunities to get food and mate. In both the Mandrill and Olive baboons, the males leave their natal group in search of new groups to join.
In terms of mating, the Mandrill females indicate that they are able to conceive by producing a swollen vagina
creating a red hue similar to the olive baboons when they are mating. In the mandrill baboon species only the dominant male is able to mate with female mandrills, but the olive baboon males are able to mate with whatever female that accepts him.
Similar to the mandrill monkeys, the olive baboon females usually have a fascination for other female’s offspring, and sometimes they would try and snatch the babies for their own. Both of these species mothers are very protective of their young and are always near them to ensure their safety. Olive baboons groom to form friendships and bonds similar to the female Mandrills. Like the female mandrills, the female olive baboons form strong bonds and remain close with each other by grooming, forming friendships, and playing with one another.
The difference between olive baboons and mandrills is their home base.
Mandrills are a nomadic species so they are constantly on the move in search of food, meanwhile olive baboons have a home base that they return to after their day of foraging for food has come to an end. Despite the mandrill’s colorful coloration, the olive baboons are not multicolored but rather a dark brown and grayish color. There is apparent sexual dimorphism between the female and male mandrill and olive baboons. While the male Mandrills have a colorful coloration and a larger weight and size to the female mandrills, the male olive baboons are just larger in size and weight only compared to the females in their
species.