Hamadryas baboons have a complicated social life, with the silvery male (see the brute below) having upwards of ten females in his family. A group of families forms a clan, a group of clans forms a band, and several bands form a troop. To further illustrate their complexity (from Big Zoo):
Males will forcefully steal females from other bands, but will not steal from their own family. Instead, they very gradually win over a juvenile female without confrontation. Young males inherit females from their father. Thus the father's social status is passed on to his sons. Females are much smaller than males, so they are not as forceful. However, if a female does not favor her male, she will have a much higher chance of being "stolen" from her male.
Photo source:
Gary Heller
The males always look cranky, especially when in full bloom like this one. It's gotta be something in the way their fur is immaculately crimped, or how it looks like someone slammed a baseball bat square on the top of their head. Or maybe it's the tubular nostrils. Regardless, I'll be staying on this side of the fence, away from both his fangs and his feces.
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hamadryas baboon
