or brown. Olive baboons have a greenish olive coat; yellow baboons are yellowish brown; guinea baboons are reddish brown; chacmas range from yellowish gray to almost black. Baboons are sexually dimorphic in size and appearance, with males being larger, often twice as large, and having a more distinctive appearance. Males often have manes and/or "capes" of hair around their shoulders. This is especially pronounced in the hamadryas subspecies. This added coat enhances the males' appearance, making them seem even larger. BEHAVIORAL ADAPTATIONS TO THE ENVIRONMENTAccording to Strum it seemed that baboons could adapt their behavior to many different kinds of environment without having to change much of their basic anatomy (71). Olive baboons live in medium to large groups with multiple males and females. The group functions as a cohesive unit organized around a core of related females. Females usually remain in their natal groups throughout their lives, while males transfer to other groups at around the time of sexual maturity. Females maintain close bonds with maternal relatives. Adult females form linear dominance hierarchies, which remain relatively stable for considerable lengths of time. Relationships among males are usually more aggressive than those among females, perhaps because most males in a group are unrelated and because male reproductive success is largely determined by competition for females. The outcome of male competition is a dominance hierarchy, determined by fighting ability, age and size. IMPACT OF HUMANS ON BABOONS & THEIR ENVIRONMENTHumans made a major impact on the environment of the baboons of the Kekopey cattle ranch. In 1978, the ranch was sold to an agricultural cooperative and humans started planting crops. From the baboons' point of view, the newly planted maize and beans were simply additional food resources for them to exploit in their traditional home. We knew that crop raiding was a new behavior for baboon...
