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Follow on Google News | Brazen baboons | Flighty females disrupt group harmonysays ZSL London Zoo ScientistsFemale baboons on the look-out for love cause havoc in baboon groups by distracting males and breaking down group cohesion, reports a new study in Animal Behaviour.
By: Victoria Picknell Single females are not shy about advertising their availability and distract the males by displaying their swollen derrieres. This results in males dedicating their time to guarding their new prized mate, which appears to have knock-on effects for the entire group. Dr Andrew King, lead author on the paper says, “We found that synchrony in our baboon groups was higher when they were travelling in ‘risky’ woodland habitats – this makes sense as it means they are able to stick together and more easily communicate. But, surprisingly, we also found that the reproductive states of females played an important role in determining synchrony.” Whilst many single female baboons cause chaos amongst a group, many pregnant females exert a calming influence, because males are not distracted by mating opportunities. With no males to hassle them the pregnant females can concentrate on foraging to find enough food to meet their increasing appetites, bringing about higher group synchrony. Working as a cohesive group is important not only for baboons, but all sorts of group-living animals since it allows individuals to detect predators more easily and concentrate on finding enough food to survive. End Editorial Notes The paper ‘All together now: behavioural synchrony in baboons’ is available on request from: victoria.picknell@ The ZSL Tsaobis Baboon Project is a long-term study of a desert baboon population in Namibia. Work is carried out in affiliation with the Desert Research Foundation of Namibia, and research permission is kindly provided by the Ministry of Lands and Resettlement and the Ministry of Environment and Tourism. For further information please visit www.zsl.org/ High resolution image available on request. # # # Founded in 1826, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is an international scientific, conservation and educational charity: our key role is the conservation of animals and their habitats. For further information please visit http://www.zsl.org End
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