Baboon Hunting

Although there are a variety of baboon subspecies, hunting methods are pretty much the same.

"If a man wants to test his hunting ability I suggest that he try chacma baboons. No animal, not even the African buffalo, ever led me such a futile chase as did those grey rascals. To this day I'm not sure that I have more brains than a baboon." Alexander Lake

Baboon Species

Olive Baboon - Papio anubis
Yellow Baboon - Papio cynocephalus
Chacma Baboon- Papio ursinus
Gelada Baboon- Theropithecus gelada
Hamadryas Baboon- Papio hamadryas

Baboon Facts

Habitat and Requirements

Baboon are found in most African habitats. The Hamadryas baboon inhabiting the cold montane grasslands of Ethiopia.

Social Structure

They are very social animals, live in groups (called troops) and have fairly complex social structures with very definite pecking orders.
Although baboons are territorial, it must be remembered they usually have fairly large territories and are extremely mobile in those territories, so just because you saw them in one area today, it doesn't necessarily mean they'll be in the same place tomorrow.

Gestation Period

After a gestation period of 6 months, one offspring is usually born.

Baboon Gender Identification

The sexual organs of the male baboon are quite distinct and the males are considerably bigger than the females.

Baboon Hunting Methods

They are best viewed as a target of opportunity.
Often the first you might know of a chance at baboon is when you see the sentinel animal perched on the uppermost branches of a tree. If you hear him bark, he’s probably spotted you which probably means you can spend an hour or two trying to out manoeuvre or out smart them. All those eyes and ears together and that high degree of craftiness, you're very possibly not going to succeed at this point. Alternatively, you can move on, try to find some more or tie up with them at bit later on.
A couple of things that help the hunter is that baboons are curious and they don't like to pass up any opportunity. If you can stalk up to the troop and pick out a suitable animal to take, then that's great. If they start to get jumpy, one way to slow them down for a few seconds is to give them a quick whistle. An even better way is to give them a few squawks with a predator call - it will almost always make them stop and look.

Baboon Trophies

If you are intending to import a raw baboon trophy (skull and/or skin) into the US, you will need to complete the CDC application form for Etiological Agent Import Permit
Go to Bringing Animal Products Into The United States for guidance on the application.
Contact: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mailstop A-46, 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30333 Tel: 404-718-2077 Fax: 404-718-2093 E-mail: importpermit@cdc.gov
Raw baboon trophy products must be crated separately from other trophies for import into the US.
Fully-treated, taxidermied mounts of baboons do not need this permit for importation into the US.