A-B-O blood groups in Kenya olive baboons (Papio anubis)

A feral population of 183 Kenyan olive baboons representing 5 troops was surveyed for salivary ABO-like antigens. Unlike previously reported populations, a high frequency of the O allele and low frequency of the B allele were detected. This observation may be the result of founder effect and/or genetic drift.     

A case of tool use in captive olive baboons (Papio anubis)

Some captive olive baboons can use their tails for picking up objects from the floor. When provided with a short handle and crosspiece, these animals learn to manipulate this tool with their hands, and one of them became proficient in inserting the crosspiece into a small wire loop, attached to a piece of bread and in lifting it up to his cage. Another baboon in the same colony who never used his tail to retrieve objects, did not attempt to use this tool. The psychological aspects of tail-use and tool-use are discussed.     

Predation by a troop of olive baboons (Papio anubis)

During 1970–1971, a troop of 49 olive baboons was observed in a partially protected area in Kenya, not far from the village of Gilgil. The baboons were seen to catch and eat 47 small animals, a rate of predation far higher than has been reported for any other nonhuman primate. Prey animals included hares, small antelope and the neonatal young of larger antelope. Adult male baboons caught and ate all but three of the prey animals. Adult females caught hares three times, but only once was a female able to keep and eat most of the animal she had caught. There was no significant seasonal variation in the occurrence of this behavior. The baboons appeared to search out prey deliberately and to come upon it by accident. No instances of cooperative hunting or voluntary sharing were seen. Both incidence and form of this predatory behavior may be influenced by learned, local tradition.     

Use of females by male olive baboons (Papio anubis)

Wild male olive baboons (Papio anubis) used females and infants as agonistic buffers. Male residency status determined whether a male used females or whether they were used against him. The success of the strategy depended on the cooperation of the female and the context of the interaction. Female cooperation correlated with preexisting social affiliation with the male user. Male choice of female or infant buffers represented a compromise between the potential effectiveness of each in different situations and the social and spatial availability of females and infants. Nonreproductive social relationships may provide long-term strategic benefits to the individuals who invest in them.     

Coprologic evidence of gastrointestinal helminths of forest baboons, Papio anubis, in Kibale National Park, Uganda

The gastrointestinal parasites of baboons have been well characterized from savannah and desert habitats, but little is known about their gastrointestinal parasites in forest habitats. From May to June 2004, we collected 41 fecal samples from free-ranging olive baboons (Papio anubis) within the forested Kibale National Park, Uganda. Samples were examined to determine the prevalence of gastrointestinal helminths in this forest dwelling population of olive baboons. The prevalence of nematodes identified from fecal flotation was Oesophagostomum sp. (85%), Trichostrongylus sp. (22%), Trichuris sp. (46%), Strongyloides sp. (44%), Ternidens sp. (5%), Abbreviata sp. (2%), and Molineus sp. (2%). Flotation techniques also recovered unidentified eggs, probably of hookworm origin (22%). No parasite eggs were recovered by sedimentation of eight samples. Coproculture techniques using 13 of the 41 samples recovered larvae from Oesophagostomum sp., Strongyloides sp., and Trichostrongylus sp. The high prevalence of nematodes recovered in this study seems to support previous theories of high nematode infections in forested habits.     

Endocrine and behavioral correlates of drought in wild olive baboons (Papio anubis)

As part of a long-term study in behavioral endocrinology, wild olive baboons (Papio anubis) living in the Serengeti ecosystem of East Africa have been under study since 1978. The present report documents behavioral and endocrine changes associated with the severe drought of 1984. During this time, the annual rainy season failed and grassland biomass was severely reduced in the Serengeti. Baboons were able to maintain body weight but spent significantly more time foraging for food. In four prior years of study, basal testosterone concentrations were remarkably stable in adult and subadult males. In contrast, during the drought, there was a highly significant 60% decline in basal concentrations of the steroid. This testicular suppression was apparent in males of all ranks (by approach-avoidance criteria). Prior studies with this population, which examined the role of acute and chronic stressors in similarly suppressing testosterone concentrations, suggested that the present instance was in response to the stress of the drought. The drought was also associated with significant reductions in the rates of escalated aggression among males. However, the distribution of fights between high-ranking males, between low-ranking males, and between high- and low-ranking males did not change from prior years, nor was the dominance hierarchy inordinately unstable during this time. These findings agree with previous evidence that indicates that suppressed testosterone concentrations in males can be associated with lower rates of aggressive behaviors but that the steroid plays a predominantly facilitative rather than activational role. Finally, rates of approach-avoidance interactions and of male sexual behaviors were unchanged during the drought. These findings agree with an endocrine literature that indicates that reproductive behavior or physiology in primates is rarely disrupted by suppression of testosterone concentrations of the magnitude of the present case.     

Complete rectal prolapse in wild anubis baboons (Papio anubis)

This report describes two cases of rectal prolapse in wild anubis baboons (Papio anubis), with one spontaneous resolution. Both occurred after individuals consumed low‐water, high‐fibre dried maize during provisioning prior to capture, while one also experienced distress during capture.     

Tuberculosis in wild olive baboons, Papio cynocephalus anubis (Lesson), in Kenya

Several wild olive baboons from a single troop in the Masai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya were observed to be lethargic and emaciated. Five were trapped and tuberculin tested by intradermal inoculation of 0.1 cc (100 IU) mammalian old tuberculin in the upper eyelid. Two of the five showed positive reaction at 72 hr and were examined at necropsy. Gross lesions in both animals consisted of multiple nodules with caseation in the lung, spleen and tracheobronchial lymph nodes. There were multiple granulomas throughout the lung, spleen and the lymph nodes. Tissues were cultured on Lowenstein-Jensen media with and without pyruvic acid. Isolates were typed as Mycobacterium bovis.     

Dominance and reproductive rates in captive female olive baboons, Papio anubis

The reproductive cycles of 23 captive olive baboons were studied over two successive parturitions. Interbirth intervals of 450 days were reduced by 60% in comparison to wild baboons, and consisted of 145 days of postpartum amenorrhea, 3.5 cycles, and a gestation of 185 days. Dominance rank was found to be one significant factor affecting female fertility. Low-ranking females had longer total intervals between successive births and, in particular, they experienced a longer delay to conception once they had resumed sexual cycles. Mothers of infants who were heavy for age resumed cycling more quickly and had fewer cycles before a subsequent conception. Mothers best able to sustain rapid early infant growth were those of high dominance rank and of high body mass; these females had more rapid reproductive rates. As female energy intake was unrelated to dominance, we suggest that social stresses are important suppressors of the hormonal and lactational competence of subordinate females.     

Female weight and reproductive condition in a population of olive baboons (Papio anubis)

The study reported here tested Altmann's prediction [Baboon Mothers and Infants. Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1980] that lactating female baboons endure a weight loss. Data from 64 adult female olive baboons (Papio anubis) residing in six troops in Kenya revealed that reproductive condition was related to weight. Lactating females weighed less and pregnant females weighed more than cycling females. There was a negative correlation between the weight of cycling females and the number of months postweighing to their next conception. These results indicate that lactation in wild baboons imposes energy costs that result in lost weight. It is suggested that female baboons may have to surpass a minimum weight threshold prior to resumption of postlactational cycling and that nutritional status is more influential than rank in affecting female reproductive success.     

Dental microwear in anubis and hybrid baboons (Papio hamadryas, sensu lato) living in Awash National Park, Ethiopia

We describe dental microwear in baboons (Papio hamadryas sensu lato) from the anubis-hamadryas hybrid zone of Awash National Park, Ethiopia, outline its variation with sex and age, and attempt to relate the observed microwear pattern to environment and diet. Casts of the maxillary second molar of 52 adult and subadult individuals of both sexes were examined with a scanning electron microscope at x 500. Digitized micrographs were taken at a consistent location on facet 9, and microwear was recorded with an image analysis software package. Univariate and multivariate statistics were used to investigate the shape, size, and density of microwear features. The overall pattern of microwear exhibits an unusual combination of high feature density, with numerous small pits and relatively wide striations, and a high correlation between width of pits and striations across individuals. We interpret this pattern as predominantly the consequence of abrasion by relatively small-caliber environmental grit when accidentally ingested with tough foods such as dried seeds and fruits, as expected in a terrestrial omnivore living in a dusty habitat. Statistical analysis revealed no significant differences between groups defined by sex, age, or troop membership, a result consistent with qualitative observations of feeding habits in this population, and which lends no support to the hypothesis that the longer jaws of adult males should result in longer striations. A trend towards greater feature density in females, however, might be due to limited sexual dinichism, and merits further investigation.     

Palatal growth in baboons (Papio cynocephalus anubis)

In this study the structure and development of the palate as observed in a cross-sectional collection of olive baboons (Papio cynocephalus anubis) skulls are described and analyzed using craniometric techniques. Considered are structural functional relationships among different parts of the palate, and between the palate and other parts of the craniofacial skeleton. Several inferences are drawn and speculated upon. These inferences are as follows: odontogenesis affects premaxillary growth the most during late fetal and early postnatal development; maxillary length is significantly affected by development and eruption of the maxillary dentition, whereas maxillary breadth is less affected by dental development. Growth of the palatine bones and nasopharyngeal airway is correlated with dentomasticatory changes; the developmental and functional significance of these correlations is unclear. Further inferences are that growth rates for each palatal component differ for each sex even though lengths of the components relative to total palatal dimensions show no sexual dimorphism. Also, it is determined that maxillary length remains constant, premaxillary length reduces and palatine length increases relative to total palatal length with growth.     

Sparganosis in wild-caught baboons (Papio cynocephalus anubis)

BACKGROUND: Sparganosis is the infection of a paratenic host with the plerocercoid metacestode of Spirometra spp. A 12-year-old captive, pregnant, wild-caught baboon from Tanzania had multiple subcutaneous nodules. METHODS: Examination of the biopsied nodules revealed the presence of viable metacestodes. The histological morphology of the metacestodes was consistent with the genus Spirometra and other pseudophyllidean cestodes. Since species of Spirometra produce growth hormones that are active in mammals, we measured fetal and placental growth and hormone levels. Blood samples were taken from the mother and the cesarean-derived fetus for hematological, biochemical, and hormonal analyses and to test for the presence of antispargana antibodies. RESULTS: Baboon placental weight and fetal hematological, biochemical, and morphometric parameters were within normal ranges. Antibody titers to spargana did not differ significantly between mother (1.08 OD(405)) and fetus (0.91 OD(405)). Baboon maternal insulin-like growth factor and growth hormone values were also within the normal range. Estradiol and progesterone analysis in four of these animals (antibody titers ranged from 0.71 to 1.7 OD(405)) showed no statistically significant difference with age- or phase-matched cycle parameters compared with antibody-negative females. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the results that have been obtained, sparganosis did not appear to affect the endocrinological profile of pregnant and cycling female baboons.     

Reversal of Ketamine/Xylazine combination anesthesia by Atipamezole in olive baboons (Papio anubis)

Background  The potential of Atipamezole (ATI) to reverse Ketamine/Xylazine (KET/XYL) anesthesia in the Olive baboon ( Papio anubis ) was studied.
Methods  Anesthesia was induced with 10 mg/kg KET and 0.5 mg/kg XYL intramuscularly. Mean arousal time (MAT), heart rate (HR), systolic arterial blood pressure (SAP), rectal temperature, respiratory rate (RR), and hemoglobin oxygen saturation (SpO₂) were monitored. Baboons were treated with: KET/XYL only, KET/XYL followed by 100 μg/kg ATI or by 200 μg/kg ATI administered 25 minutes after KET/XYL.
Results  Atipamezole rapidly reversed depressed HR and SAP (10 ± 5.2 minutes), RR (5 ± 2 minutes) and SpO₂ (3 ± 6 minutes) and significantly decreased MAT (13 ± 2.2 minutes) vs. KET/XYL alone (35 ± 5 minutes). Emesis was absent and salivation was observed after administration of 200 μg/kg ATI only.
Conclusions  Atipamezole at 100 μg/kg is sufficient for rapid and smooth reversal of KET/XYL anesthesia in the Olive baboon with minimal side effects.