Thank you to the nearly 1,000 Walk in the Wild participants who came out to support the Phoenix Zoo last Saturday, Feb. 19. Check out this video recapping the event. We even had some “WILD” participants. Join us next year for the Fourth Annual Walk in the Wild.

Here is some footage of what you might see if you visited the Hamadryas baboons at the Phoenix Zoo. Ben Brose tells us a little bit about these amazing animals.

Range:

Amazing picture by Ryan Dimal

Ethiopia and Somalia in Africa, and Saudi Arabia and Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula. They are found from sea level to 2600 meters.

Habitat:
Inhabits semi-arid plains and rocky hill country and they spend the night on rocky cliffs.

Size:
Length (without tail): 24 -30in; Weight: males- up to 40 lbs & females are half the weight of males

Young:
One young is usual, rarely two

Gestation:
170-173 days

Diet (wild):
Opportunistic: chiefly vegetarian supplemented with protein-rich insects, hares and other small animals. In parts of Arabia, they are becoming increasingly dependent on raiding crops and garbage dumps.

Diet (zoo):
Monkey chow, leaf-eater biscuits, fruits, and vegetables

Life span (wild):
Unknown, but it is likely that the maximum is slightly lower in the wild

Life span (captivity):
35+ years

Status:
They are common within their limited distribution. Arabian populations that become dependent on humans may be at risk. The Hamadryas has been exterminated in Egypt and reduced in numbers in other areas. Much of its former range has been brought under cultivation, leading to conflicts with people. It is listed as threatened by CITES (II) and near threatened by the IUCN.

Threats:
Habitat loss, harvesting for food and for research, as well as outright persecution.

Anatomy/Physiology:
They have enormous canines, usually used in threat displays. Females and young are brown without mane. Infants are black. The tail is arched gently backwards. The face is reddish-pink with a very long muzzle in the same line as the brain case. The Ischial callosities are highly developed and bright red. Females have pronounced monthly genital swelling.

Social/Family units:
Hamadryas baboons are socially and structurally distinct from other species of baboon. Males are related to each other and females move between groups. They sleep on rocky cliffs in aggregations that may number as many as 750. They travel and forage in bands of 50 to 100 individuals. In turn these bands are composed of the basic group of a single adult male with one to four females together with their offspring. The adult male keeps his harem together by strong disciplinary measures which include biting his females on the nape of the neck. Males kidnap young females who then bond to them. A female threatened by her male will run towards not away from him. When a pair forms, rival males respect a possessor’s right to his female. This species breeds throughout the year, but the peak seasons are May-June and November-December.  Females reach sexual maturity in five years, males in seven.  Their flexible social structure is adapted to two special local conditions: the lack of safe sleeping places and the difficulty of finding food in the tree-less semi-desert in which they live.

Habits:
These animals are very social and are stressed by isolation. A direct stare is a threat. To threaten in return, they will raise their eyebrows, showing their white eyelid and partially open their mouth, displaying formidable canines.
Intensifying the threat, they may yawn, raise their hair, slap hands and feet on the ground, grind their teeth and scream. Fear is shown by a “grin” with no eyelid threat. They have a number of calls; alarm is given by a dog-like bark.  Social grooming is thought to help develop and maintain social bonds between animals. Within hamadryas baboons, most social grooming is performed by females and is directed toward the leader. Other forms of tactile communication in this species include reassuring touches and embraces, as well as a variety of bites and slaps.
In their dry, sandy environment they learn where to find small pools and where to dig for water.

Communication:
They utilize visual signals and gestures, vocalizations, and tactile communication. Visual signals include social presenting, in which a females or juveniles display their hind quarters to the male. This submissive signal differs from sexual presenting (which females do to elicit copulation) in that the hindquarters are much lower to the ground. Staring is a threat behavior, the effect of which is enhanced by the differently colored fur in the region of the eye which is revealed when the baboon stares. The mouth may be opened during this type of staring, although the canine teeth typically remain covered. Bobbing the head up and down is also considered a threatening behavior among hamadryas baboons. Canine teeth are displayed by a tension yawn, as another threatening gesture. This last behavior is performed only by males toward their rivals or toward predators.  Teeth chattering and lipsmacking, although not technically vocalizations, are auditory cues of reassurance, often performed by a dominant animal when another is presenting to him. Vocalizations made by these animals include a two-phase bark, or “wahoo” call, which adult males direct toward feline predators or toward other males. It is thought to communicate the presence of the male and his arousal. All hamadryas baboons, except infants, make rhythmic grunting vocalizations when approaching another animal to signal affiliative intentions. A shrill bark is produced by all except adult males to indicate alarm, especially due to sudden disturbances.

Predators:
Leopard, Verreaux’s eagle, but most natural predators have been virtually eliminated from most of the range of P. hamadryas.

Locomotion:
Quadrupedal, mainly terrestrial primates

Activity:
Diurnal

Any interesting story/fact:
The Hamadryas was the sacred baboon of the ancient Egyptians, often pictured on temples and monoliths as the attendant or representative of Thoth, the god of letters and scribe of the gods. Baboons were mummified, entombed and associated with sun-worship. This is the only non-human primate found in Arabia. Also known as the sacred or “mantled” or Arabian baboon.

In this video, Jeremy Barlow of the Phoenix Zoo gives you a sneak peek into the view from one of the orangutans’ climbing structures in the new exhibit, Orang-Hutan: “People of the Forest.”

The orangutans are currently off exhibit at the Phoenix Zoo until their new home opens in April 2011.

In this video, Jeremy Barlow of the Phoenix Zoo talks about the Enrichment Tree in the orangutans’ new exhibit, Orang-Hutan: “People of the Forest.” This feature will allow the orangutans to stay active, both mentally and physically.

The orangutans are currently off exhibit at the Phoenix Zoo until their new home opens in April 2011.

Every month, the Phoenix Zoo receives dozens of submissions for the Wild Child section of the Wild Times magazine. Unfortunately, there is not enough space in Wild Times to include all the great artwork sent to us. Here are some of the great submissions that did not make it into the magazine this month. Click on the artwork to see a larger image.

Emily, Age 7

Tara, Age 14

Dana, Age 10

Emma, Age 9

Kaylie, Age 10

Ethan, Age 8

Justin, Age 8

Olivia, Age 8

Your Phoenix Zoo Social Media team has created a team for Walk in the Wild, we hope all of you will  join or be inspired to create your own team!

Joining or creating a team is a great way to participate in the event as you’ll have a ton of fun walking the Zoo with others you know or be able to create new friendships!  It also saves you money on the event:  registration is only $20 per adult, $10 per child !

To join our team “The Social NetWalk” use this form: The Social NetWalk Team Registration 2011

To create your own team (you need at least 6 walkers) use this form: Walk Registration 2011

To join or create your own team, you must register by February 16, 2011!

To learn more about the event read all about it:

http://www.phoenixzoo.org/events/special_events/special_events_detail.aspx?ARTICLE_ID=100773

In this video, Jeremy Barlow of the Phoenix Zoo gives a tour of the indoor guest-viewing area at the new orangutan exhibit, Orang-Hutan: “People of the Forest.” Guests will get the opportunity to view our family of Bornean orangutans face-to-face, as well as the opportunity to view training sessions in the orangutans’ day rooms.

The orangutans are currently off exhibit at the Phoenix Zoo until their new home opens in April 2011.