Primate Rescue Center

The olive baboon lives throughout the grasslands and jungles of some two dozen countries of equatorial Africa, from Guinea and Mali in the west to Chad, Sudan, and Somalia in the east. Like other baboons, these green-grey Old World monkeys, who may grow two and a half feet tall and weigh as much as 50 pounds, have dog-like tails and faces (they also move on all fours like dogs). But in the wild, these intelligent and wily omnivores are hardly man’s best friend: when foraging for food, troops of 50 or more often invade agricultural fields, earning them the wrath (and bullets) of angry farmers. In addition, these primates are threatened in their native habitats by leopards and other big cats, which they’ll scare off by baring their massive teeth and shrieking. And although they’re not common in the pet trade, olive baboons are increasingly being used as subjects in biomedical research.

Size	23 to 29 inches
Weight	32 to 52 pounds
Lifespan	30 years
Habitat	Grasslands and jungles
Diet	Plants, fruits, seeds, mushrooms, insects, rodents, and even sheep, goats, and small antelope

Our Residents