Two Simian Primate Baboon Species

The purpose of this research is to examine the social organization of two simian primate baboon species, the mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx) and savanna baboons (Papio cynocephalus anubis). The plan of the research will be to set forth the context in which social structures of these species assume significance and then to discuss demographical features of each species, notably sex-specific size, appearance, sexual configuration and behavior, life expectancy, and both natural and artificial habitats.

The interplay of environment and behavior and the implications of nonhuman primate physical health and behavior for human health and behavior suggest in general terms why the study of primates has significance in the modern period. In particular, evidence of primate social structure is suggestive because it demonstrates strategic response to practical environmental conditions and points to systematic response to and interaction with individual psychosocial units of which a given primate community is composed. Comparative investigation of different species of baboons in all these areas, meanwhile, may be useful in refining an understanding of habitat and survival requirements of the species and may point in the direction of actions and policies that might have the effect of making highest and best human use of natural resources, revealing optimal strategies for possible human intervention in primate populations, whether in captivity or the wild, and aiding in the construction of inves

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rumped, a reference to genital tumescence (Wickings & Dixson, 1992). Fatted (tumescent) males are also said to be "fully colored," while nonfatted males are considered "pale" (Rogers & Others, 1996, pp. 297-300). Fatted males essentially function in the manner of "Type-A" personalities--more group-dominant, more flamboyant in appearance, and more successful with females than the latter, in both sexual activity and paternity success. Indeed, as reported by Wickings, Bossi & Dixson (1993), the DNA analyses of one mandrill troop observed in an animal preserve in Gabon over five years indicated that two dominant males (one ascending in dominance and one descending in dominance) were responsible for all infant births in the group. This is consistent with Strum's finding (1987, p. 118) that the aggression shown by male baboons is inversely related to the length of time spent in a group; in fact, newcomers were the most dominant (aggressive) males in the troop, followed by short-term residents, with the long-term residents last (in terms of dominance). Aggressive male behavior, however, does not imply that aggression = success. Consider Stammbach's note--made prior to extensive observation and reportage in the literature of observations

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