Behaviour of the adult males in a troop of free-ranging Chacma baboons (Papio ursinus).

Abstract

The roles of the adult males in troops of free-ranging baboons (P. ursinus) were studied for 20 months in the northern Transvaal and in the Kruger National Park. An analysis of multiple indexes of adult male behaviour, derived from a survey of social behaviour in a single troop with 3 adult males during 437 h of observation, indicated that there were individual differences in the contributions of each male to the social organisation of the troop. Males differed in the frequency and nature of agonistic behaviour, and the male ranking lowest in individual aggressive encounters initiated significantly more troop progressions and was most sexually active. Evidence that other baboons perceived temperamental differences between the adult males is presented and the role of individual differences between troop leaders in intertroop variability is discussed.