Are Baboons Dangerous Animals?

There are six different species of baboons. Scientists have found that certain species of baboons are more aggressive than others. However, when push comes to shove, every species of baboon can be considered a dangerous animal.

However, it’s important to note that baboons usually attack only for specific reasons. Most often, attacks occur when baboons feel threatened and believe they must defend themselves. If baboons had their way, they would live far away from people, with many choosing not to interact with them. But, with long-held and ingrained fears of the primates, baboons are seen as dangerous creatures, and even attacks on people are infrequent.

What Makes Baboons Dangerous Animals

Baboons are not as dangerous as they are portrayed to be. However, these primates will not back down if cornered or if their troop is in danger. When this happens, baboons have the capability to cause great bodily harm or worse.

The largest of all monkeys, with a height of up to 32 inches and the biggest weighing in at 82 pounds, baboons are quite distinguishable due to the hair that grows on either side of their heads, as well as their rear ends, which can vary from black to bright pink.

What truly sets baboons apart from other monkeys, however, is their massive canines. It is these sharp canines in conjunction with their jaw strength that allow baboons to be dangerous animals if the time calls for it. In most instances, this aggression is directed toward other animals perceived as a threat. However, if people get too close or become aggressive toward baboons, they have been known to attack on occasion.

Baboons Are Typically Not Aggressive Toward People

What is interesting about baboons is that, despite having the capability to be dangerous toward people, it is people who are more aggressive toward baboons. This has to do with baboons being long seen as a creature that is part of the occult in some countries. Therefore, they are constantly blamed for societal woes, which has led to death for many.

Baboons would prefer to stay away from people. However, as their habitat has decreased thanks to urbanization, baboons are coming into contact with people more frequently due to ongoing habitat loss and urbanization. This has caused some of the fear baboons used to have of people to diminish.

Baboons now target crops, thanks to them being an easy food source. This has led to baboons not only being seen as pests but also being hit by cars as they try to navigate cities and towns that now exist in their traditional habitat.

Additionally, fear of baboons is growing among people living in Africa and near the Arabian Peninsula. Unfortunately, this fear has caused baboons who were not trying to bring harm to people to be unnecessarily killed.

According to a 2023 study published in Global Environment: A Journal of Transdisciplinary History, in Africa, especially, there is a long-held belief that baboons are familiars for witches. Consequently, if there is an illness that breaks out or if cattle begin to act strangely, baboons are the scapegoats. By becoming the scapegoat, baboons are targeted and killed, simply for just existing in the same area as people.

Does this mean that baboons will not attack people? No. If baboons feel like people are cornering them or if they feel like their troop is being threatened, they will attack to protect themselves. But attacks on people are extremely rare, and in most cases, baboon attacks occur when the animals feel threatened or provoked, often as a result of human actions or encroachment.

Why Baboons Become Aggressive Toward Other Animals

Baboons are omnivores. While their diet is primarily plant-based, they will not hesitate to eat rodents, fish, or birds. In fact, baboons will become aggressive toward other, larger animals if hunting.

On their own, a baboon would not be able to take down a large mammal. However, given that baboons are social creatures, they will not hesitate to work together to hunt and kill an antelope, or even, in some instances, a big cat, such as a leopard. In the case of the latter, the leopard was only attacked because it thought it could make a meal out of one of the baboons.

Because baboons can sense danger before they see it, they can work as a group to stop would-be hunters, such as lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, and more, from gaining the upper hand. Consequently, baboons will become aggressive toward other animals to defend themselves or for hunting. However, they would prefer to keep to their troop as they travel from one place to another, without incident.

Baboons Will Become Aggressive With One Another

It is not uncommon for baboons to attack one another. When this happens, it is the males in the troop who are to blame.

When there is aggression in a baboon troop, it has to do with males attempting to move up the hierarchical totem pole or attempting to mate. In both instances, one male will attack, seemingly out of nowhere.

In the case of trying to take power from a male who is the leader of a troop, a male will attack to show his superiority. The male baboons will fight, and both may be injured—sometimes fatally. After the struggle, either the current leader remains in charge, or a new male takes over.

Unfortunately, when it comes to mating, baboons will also practice both infanticide and feticide. When this happens, the male baboon will kill a young baboon who is still nursing or will attack a pregnant baboon in hopes of her losing her fetus. In both instances, the goal is to mate with the female baboon, which would not have been possible when pregnant or with a young baboon in tow.

What To Do If A Baboon Is Encountered In The Wild

When encountering baboons in the wild, they may react in one of two ways. If they are not accustomed to humans, they will try to get as far away as possible. However, some baboons have learned that backpacks and other items may contain food, and may approach people to try to take them. These are the baboons people need to be especially cautious around.

If baboons approach, avoid making any movements or gestures that could be seen as threatening, as this may provoke an attack. This will only cause them to potentially attack. Instead, what people should do if they encounter a baboon includes:

• Stand your ground but do not stare directly at the baboon

• Carry a stick in areas that are known to have baboons as they recognize the stick as a potentially threatening object

• Do not run away, as baboons have been known to chase

• Slowly walk away from baboons, if they are not the first to leave an area

• If a baboon takes food, let them have it and recover the backpack or bag it was carried in when the baboon has left the area

• If a baboon breaks into a hotel room, leave the room and call in experts to remove the baboon so that it does not feel cornered, potentially leading to an attack

It should be remembered that while baboons are not known for actively going after people and attacking them, they can cause injuries or even death, given their large, sharp canines and dynamics where they will attack as a group. Therefore, it is never a good idea to try to get closer to a baboon if one is spotted in the wild. Maintain a safe distance so the baboon does not feel threatened, and leave the area to prevent harm to either the baboon or people.

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