Frightened but Fierce Mother Baboon
A very large troop of over 100 baboons had come to a watering hole. They were disconcertingly humanlike. Parents were playing with kids, couples were lounging together, and young adults were flirting to various degrees of success. The gathering seemed jubilant and I was enthralled watching.
Suddenly, two terrified screams rang out: a large baboon was chasing and attacking this mother in an attempt to kill her suckling baby. Male baboons who join a troop may seek higher status by mating with a powerful baboon’s partner, usurping that baboon’s position. Killing the baby stops the mother's lactation cycle and ovulation can begin.
Each of the male’s vicious attacks met with ferocious response from the mom, shrieks from the baby, and some tenuous backup from other males, who seemed to want to help but were unsure of what to do. I assume that baboons have politics too, and fighting a high status male may not be the way to go. In this way, they were disconcertingly human-like too.
The happy news is that when the troop finally moved on, mom and baby were alive and well. I’m still rooting for them from afar and hope the babe is doing okay!
Mama bears may be tough cookies, but don't ever mess with a mama baboon.
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