Characteristics of hamadryas‐like male baboons living in anubis baboon troops in the Awash hybrid zone, Ethiopia

Abstract

In the twenty-two years since the Awash baboon hybrid zone was first described, about 25–30 hamadryas or hamadryas-like hybrid males have taken up residence in anubis baboon groups. Most enter as mature adults, though some may immigrate as juvenile followers. Long-term tracking of known immigrants indicates that they may reside for four years or more in their adopted troop, during which time they establish a series of comparatively short-term harems, and probably sire hybrid offspring. “Abductions” of anubis females to hamadryas troops, as postulated by early observers, were not seen, though their occurrence cannot be ruled out. Younger, more recent immigrants tend to be “purer” hamadryas in phenotype, perhaps reflecting a more distant origin, or a change in the composition of neighboring hamadryas populations: Coexisting hamadryas and anubis show no signs of reproductive isolation by behavioral barriers, and evidently belong to a single “recognition species”.