Simien Treks
Gelada Baboons
The Gelada, or “bleeding heart baboon”, is an old-world monkey and not a true baboon despite previous naming conventions. The gelada is found solely in the highlands of Ethiopia and feeds primarily on fresh shoots of grass. The gelada social system consists of a hierarchy of social groupings. A typical reproductive unit consists of 1-4 males with a single breeding alpha male, and 1-10 females with their dependent young.
Females tend to be closely related and stay in their band for all their lives. Ranging bands of gelada can overlap territories, and will occasionally form very large communities, up to 1000 strong. There are an estimated 2,500 Gelada in the park and another 2,000 in the surrounding Simien massif, with average band sizes of 200 individuals. At night time the Gelada bands retreat down onto the cliff faces where they sleep to avoid nocturnal predators. This is an impressive spectacle and can sometimes be seen at Gich camp. If you have the opportunity to spend time at Simien lodge at the beginning of your hike, they have a fantastic 1-hour documentary about the Gelada that is typically played around 5-6PM, just before dinner.
A band consists of 2-10 reproductive units. A band of geladas shares a common foraging and sleeping area, and may also contain 1-3 all male groups (younger, non-breeding males who stay in these groups for 2-4 years before trying to enter a reproductive unit).
