| Baboons | ||
| Common Name:
Yellow Baboon Species: Papio cynocephalus cynocephalus Lifespan: 20-30 years |
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 I spotted these two fellows in the tree (see left picture). The larger baboon was grooming the smaller one. I'm not 100% sure, but based on the fur color and the slightly turned-up nose, I think this is a yellow baboon. The sequence above was taken over several minutes. They pick pests off each other and typically eat them. |
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| Somewhere in the Western Arm of the Serengeti, we saw this fellow sitting all alone in the grass, quietly grooming himself. Usually, baboons are in groups from 5-200. |
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| Baboons | |
| Common Name:
Olive Baboon Species: Papio cynocephalus anubis Weight: 50-100 pounds (25-45 kg) |
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| This acacia tree was full of baboons- 5 or 6, best I can tell (one of the dark spots might be a vulture's nest). While we were watching the tree, one of them descended, which I photographed to the right. |
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| This baboon, which I believe is an olive baboon, was also walking alone near the road in the Western Arm of the Serengeti. The Yellow and Olive baboons look fairly similar. The Olive ones are darker, and the yellow ones are a bit smaller and their noses turn up just a little. Both variants are "dog-faced". |  |
| Monkeys |
| Common Name:
Vervet Monkey Species: Cercopithecus aethiops Size: 18-26 inches (40-65cm) |
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Vervet monkeys were everywhere in the Serengeti. We saw quite a few of them, although for some reason my photos came out a bit blurry. The one on the right was taken in the early evening, so low light is to blame there. There are different varieties, but they all basically have the same facial features, differing somewhat in the color of their fur. |
We also saw some vervet monkeys in Ngorongoro Crater, which is adjacent to the Serengeti, but much higher in altitude. Most of the crater floor is grassland, but at the south end is a wooded area, and there were vervets and baboons there. |
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| Much further east, in the foothills of Kilimanjaro, we stayed at a place called Makoa Farm. At dusk, a noisy cacophony arose- a large troupe of vervet monkeys were cascading down the hillside, going to the valley for the night to sleep. They apparently feed further up on the hillside during the day. These are several shots of them as they playfully went from tree to tree. | ||
| Common Name:
Blue Monkey Species: Cercopithecus mitis Weight: 4kg (females), 8kg (males) |
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| This was the only blue monkey we saw, on a rooftop at the entrance (or exit, in our case) to the Ngorongoro Conservation area. He was better positioned initially, but I didn't have my camera out and ready, as we were at an administration office, and I wasn't expecting to see any wildlife there. |
