Image: Gareth Jones
It was a sunny afternoon as we sat at the Athi dam. A large troop of Olive baboons was congregated there, and climbing into the fig tree on the dam wall. A group of baby baboons caught my eye as they began to play.
Suddenly, a slightly older youngster decided to grab a piece of a stick and challenge all the other baby baboons to play “catch me if you can”. Obviously, the slightly older youngster ran rings around the wobbly-legged newborn babies.
But what impressed me, and was also interesting, was that the babies all tried to actually catch him with their undeveloped bodies.
One baby baboon seemingly “jumped for joy” in excited frustration, as the older youngster victoriously ran past him with the stick, and sat in the road biting his “victory prize stick”.
I believe this type of “game activity”, while occupying their day as seemingly having fun, is actually a vital part of the rapid physical development they all need in the wild to ensure they can respond to dangerous situations.
Olive baboons are very intelligent and clearly understand that human habitat areas (like the KWS main gate and the office zone) are sometimes much safer than being in the wild, to try and avoid predators such as leopards in the park.
They have thick, furry coats, and it is well worth the time to sit and watch a troop interact.
Baboon antics are also particularly interesting to humans because many of their habit traits are almost “human-like”. They are, therefore, often amusing and fascinating, especially when the babies play so innocently to develop into strong adults that can fend for themselves in the wild.