Chapter V: The Yellow Baboon. Papio Babuin

_Le petit papion_, Buffon, Hist. Nat. Mamm., xiv., pl. 14 (1766).

_Papio cynocephalus_, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 102 (1812); Schl.,
Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 127 (1876).

_Cynocephalus babouin_, Desm., Mamm., p. 68 (1820); (Le babouin), F.
Cuvier, Mem. du Mus., iv., p. 419, pl. 19 (1818); id. Hist. Nat. Mamm.,
livr. iv. (1819); Is. Geoffr., Arch. Mus., ii., p. 579, pl. 34 (1841);
Gray, Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 35 (1870).

_Simia cynocephala_, Fischer, Synop. Mamm., p. 33 (1829).

_Cynocephalus anubis_, var. Wagner in Schreb., Säugeth., Suppl., v., p.
63 (1855).

CHARACTERS.--ADULT MALE.--Snout elongate, not surpassing the upper lip; nostrils large, round, separated by a longitudinal furrow above; tail shorter than the body, haired throughout its {266}length; curved upwards at the root, and then descending straightly; no mane; hair of crown elongated, a large tuft directed backwards on each cheek, forming large whiskers.

General colour of fur brownish-yellow; ears nude, coloured like the face; face livid flesh-colour, deeper round the eyes; upper side of body uniform brownish-yellow, the hairs being ringed alternately with broader yellow and narrower black bars; sides of body somewhat darker; throat and under side paler yellow than above; whisker-tufts pale citron-yellow; hands and feet like the back in colour, their naked parts like the face.

YOUNG MALE.--Coloration of upper parts similar to that of the adult male, but paler underneath; the snout less protuberant.

DISTRIBUTION.--This species inhabits Western Abyssinia, Nubia (Dongola), and the Soudan (Sennaar), at elevations of from 2,000 to 5,000 feet. It also occurs on the West Coast of Africa--having been brought from the Coanza river by the late Captain Cameron, R.N.; in East Africa Mr. H. H. Johnston has observed it on Mount Kilimanjaro; while from the remarks of Sir John Kirk given below it would seem to extend also as far south as the Zambesi (Tete).

HABITS.--Very little is known of the habits of the Baboons in a state of nature; but it is probable that this species does not differ materially in its ways and manners of life from those of its near relations described in the preceding pages. Sir John Kirk says that in some parts of Africa, such as Tete, Batoko, and Rovuma it is considered to be a sacred animal by the natives, and is thus unmolested.