Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin (ISSN 0178 – 6288) . Number 125, May 2015, pp. 19-37. | Page 11
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sculpting of a stone or clay hamadryas head as the lid of the canopic jar that held
the lungs and/or represented the protection of the lungs. Hamadryas baboons
were revered because certain behaviors that they perform were seen as
worshiping the sun (Wikipedia).
Status and Conservation
Transformation of field and pastureland represents the main threat to the
hamadryas baboon; it’s only natural predators are the Striped hyena, Spotted
hyena and African leopard who are still living in its area of distribution
(Wikipedia). In Arabia, the main enemy of the Arabian Baboon (Papio hamadryas
makkah) is the rare Arabian Leopard (Panthera pardus nimr).
The IUCN listed this species as "least concern" in 2008. There are no major rangewide threats at present, although locally it may be at risk through loss of habitat
due to major agricultural expansion and irrigation projects. The species occurs in
the proposed Yangudi Rassa National Park, the Harar Wildlife Sanctuary, and a
number of wildlife reserves in the lower Awash valley and in northern Eritrea
(Wikipedia). The Arabian Baboon (Papio hamadryas makkah) is also protected in
the Yemeni Bur’ reserve and the Saudi Arabian reserves.
Arabian Baboon (Papio hamadryas makkah, Khalaf 2015) eating a banana on Jabal Al Noor
in Makkah Al Mukarramah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Photo by: Prof. Dr. Sc. Norman
Ali Bassam Khalaf-von Jaffa. 08.04.2012.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/50022881@N00/12064621805/
Conclusion:
After studying and examining the Hamadryas Baboon Papio
hamadryas from Jabal Al-Noor in Makkah Al-Mukarramah, and
comparing with the five Papio hamadryas subspecies-groups:
Papio hamadryas hamadryas (Sacred Baboon), Papio hamadryas
Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – Number 125 – May 2015