This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
The latest video in my ‘Biomusings’ series describes the work of PhD student David Pappano at the University of Michigan. David spends his field seasons in the highlands of Ethiopia studying the unique behaviors of bachelor gelada baboons. The social system in geladas is one where a dominant alpha male keeps a harem of females and is extremely protective over his group – which generally leaves many sub-dominant males to form groups of their own. David is examining just what happens in these all male bachelor groups…
I was still pregnant with my baby daughter Juna when we shot this video – I thought it made for a nice tie in to the family unit. Enjoy!
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