Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin (ISSN 0178 – 6288) . Number 125, May 2015, pp. 19-37. | Page 8

26 also abduct a young female by force. Either way, the male will mate with the female when she matures. Aging males often lose their females to followers and soon lose weight and their hair color changes to brown like a female. While males in most other baboon species are transferred away from their male relatives and into different troops, male hamadryas baboons remain in their natal clans or bands and have associations with their male kin (Wikipedia). Hamadryas baboons have traditionally been thought of having a female transfer society with females being moved away from their relatives of the same sex. However, later studies show female baboons retain close associations with their female kin throughout their lives. Females can spend about as much time with other females as they do with the harem males, and some females will even interact with each other outside of their harems. In ad dition, it is not uncommon for females of the same natal group to end up in the same harem. Females can still associate and help their extended families despite their interactions being controlled by the harem males (Wikipedia). Females within a harem do not display any dominance relationships as seen in many other baboon and macaque species. The harem males suppress aggression between the females and prevent any dominance hierarchies from arising. Despite this, some social differences between the females occur. Some females are more socially active and have a stronger social bond with the harem male. These females, known as the "central females", stay in closer proximity to the harem male than the other females. Females that spend most their time farther from the harem male are called "peripheral females" (Wikipedia). 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@N00/12064605485/ Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – Number 125 – May 2015