Original Article

The Disregarded West: Diet and Behavioural Ecology of Olive Baboons in the Ivory Coast
Britta K. Kunz, K. Eduard Linsenmair

Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Theodor Boveri Institute of Biosciences, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany

Address of Corresponding Author

Folia Primatol 2008;79:31-51 (DOI: 10.1159/000108384)

  Key Words

• Papio anubis
• West Africa
• Population density
• Group size
• One-male groups
• Home range
• Habitat selection
• Time budget
• Diet

  Abstract

Despite living under environmental conditions considerably distinct from those of savannah baboons (Papio spp.) in East and southern Africa, very little is known about western Papio populations. We monitored the abundance and group sizes of olive baboons (P. anubis) in the savannah-forest mosaic of the Comoé National Park, northern Ivory Coast, and observed 2 habituated groups of different sizes. Against expectations for the kind of habitat, the individual density was low, yielding only 1.2 baboons/km². The groups were small, comprising on average 15 individuals, and the proportion of 1-male groups (50-63%) was remarkably high. One-male groups were more female biased than multi-male groups. The baboons were highly frugivorous, spending about 50% of their feeding time on fruits and seeds of at least 79 woody plant species. The 2 habituated groups had comparatively large home ranges and used forests more often than expected by random. We argue that regular subgrouping of the larger focal group and different habitat quality countervailed inter-group variations. Differences from other study sites, however, are not completely explained by current models of baboon (socio)ecology. It appears that the social organization of olive baboons is more flexible than assumed from data on East African populations.

Copyright © 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel

  Author Contacts

Britta K. Kunz
Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology
Theodor Boveri Institute of Biosciences
Am Hubland, DE-97074 Würzburg (Germany)
Tel. +49 931 888 4355, Fax +49 931 888 4352
E-Mail kunz@biozentrum.uni-wuerzburg.de

  Article Information

Received: December 12, 2006
Accepted after revision: May 13, 2007
Published online: September 14, 2007
Number of Print Pages : 21
Number of Figures : 1, Number of Tables : 6, Number of References : 80