The Hamadryas Baboon (Papio hamadryas) is a baboon from the Old World monkey family. It is the northernmost of all the baboons; its range extends from the Red Sea in Egypt to Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia. It also lives on the Arabian peninsula (Saudi Arabia and Yemen). The Hamadryas Baboon was a sacred animal to the ancient Egyptians as the attendant of Thoth, and so, is also called the Sacred Baboon.

Apart from the striking size difference between the sexes (males are often twice as large as females) which is common to all baboons, this species also shows sexual dimorphism in coloration. Males are silver-white colored and have a pronounced cape which they develop around the age of ten, while the females are capeless and brown. Their faces range in color from red to tan to a dark brown that older males often exhibit. Males are an average of 30" tall, with tails about 20" long, and weigh an average of about 45 lbs. Tails end in small tufts. Infants are dark in coloration and lighten after about one year. Hamadryas baboons reach sexual maturity at about 51 mo. for females and between 57 and 81 mo. for males.

The average life span of Hamadryas baboons in the wild is about 35 years.

Photo: Eating an apple