Anecdote | Wildlife
The Baboon Who Stole My Birthday Cake
How olive baboons interact with humans
I was a young girl growing up in Nigeria, West Africa, when I had my first chance encounter with a baboon.
At the time, my family and I were visiting a game reserve (or wildlife park) called the Yankari Game Reserve in Nigeria. It was my birthday and we had decided to make it a family event celebrating at the reserve.
Yankari Game Reserve is one of the few areas in West Africa where wild animals are protected and get to live in their natural habitat without much interference from humans. Tourists may visit the park but there are no fences or barriers anywhere. The animals are free to roam around as they wish in an area that covers more than 554,000 acres of forest land.
The reserve serves as a home for more than 50 major mammal species including elephants and lions. It is also home to the olive baboon.
The olive baboon
The olive baboon is a type of monkey that is native to many parts of Africa. Unlike other monkeys, baboons have a dog-like snout and strong jaws. There are 5 species of baboons and the olive baboon is the only baboon species that is predominant at the Yankari Game Reserve.
