And over time , the baboons ation . Today , n Project , which nce 1976 , ranks as ning primate reere in the world . w and — she ven love seven families . ire span of time , tween Kenya ng in the Departevery spring e rest of the David “ Jonah ” e chairman of tion Centre , Guy and Carissa , Africa . g , Strum says , ubble .” She ith Kenyans — at matter . The had watched the he Pumphouse um ’ s first innovathat vehicle and
walk , habituating the baboons to her presence just enough that they would act naturally .
“ It took just a little while to figure out that they weren ’ t like they had been described ,” she says . “ It took longer to figure out what was going on .”
Since male baboons are nearly twice as big as females and look like they ’ re built for aggression , the assumption was they have a male-dominated society ruled by violence . But Strum discovered that ’ s not so .
It ’ s not that baboons are pacifists exactly — they have their scuffles and shows of dominance . They ’ ll hassle each other over different matters . But deadly confrontations with other baboons ? Not really . And the most belligerent don ’ t always win either , not in terms of food resources or their