Publications and Research
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2008
Abstract
Here we report the first year-round quantitative data on dietary composition and seasonality in wild hamadryas baboons. Study subjects were adult male members of Band 3 at the Filoha field site in central lowland Ethiopia. Data collection consisted of 10-minute focal samples during all-day follows 4-6 days per month over the course of one year. The two largest contributors to the diet were Hyphaene thebaica and Acacia senegal, and these were the only plant species found in the diet during every month of the year. Other relatively major contributors to the diet, such as Cyperus grandibulbosus, Seddera bagshawei, Tribulus cistoides and Typha latifolia, showed a seasonal pattern. Fewer plant species were consumed during the dry months of the year compared to the wet months. During the hottest and driest months of the year, study subjects subsisted almost exclusively on Hyphaene thebaica, Acacia senegal, Cyperus grandibulbosus,and Typha latifolia. Overall, these patterns suggest that this population of hamadryas baboons spends less time feeding and is able to subsist on a narrower array of plant foods compared to other baboons. This pattern may be driven by the presence at Filoha of the doum palm (Hyphaene thebaica), a high-quality food resource that is consumed year-round.