Species: Chacma baboon (Papio hamadryas ursinus)

Use: General Behavior

Authors: Deborah Hartley, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

Methods: N/A

Publications/Presentations: N/A

Aggressive Contact (AC):  use of hand(s) to touch another individual in an aggressive context, may pull hair, slap, or swipe at another.

Aggressive Hold (AH): use of hand(s) to hold another individual down, pressed against the floor or in a corner.  Usually performed by the dominant male against a subordinate and/or antagonist from a female-female agonistic interaction.

Approach (APP):  individual walks toward another individual.

Aggressive pull (AP): use of hand(s) to pull an individual around, usually by hair; observed by the dominant male “mopping the floor” with a subordinate and/or antagonist from a female-female agonistic interaction.

Avoid (AV): an individual walks away from an approaching individual; a submissive behavior.

Beg (BG): infant tries to take food from mother or another individual; includes begging toward other’s mouth or hand(s) with their hands and/or mouth.

Bite (BT): an individual uses their teeth to make physical contact with another; an aggressive behavior.

Chase (CH): an individual may run or trot after an avoiding individual; an aggressive behavior.

Eye Flash (EF): individual will glare at another and expose their eyelids: an aggressive behavior.

Explore (EX):  passive (visual) or active (traveling) exploring of surroundings by infant.

Forage (FO): individual eats, masticates, or searches for food; includes drinking.

Fear grin (FG): individual bares teeth and pulls back the corners of the mouth so their mouth is agape; a submissive behavior.

Follow (FW): individual casually walks after another individual.

Groom (GR):  an individual picks through their hair (autogroom) or another’s (allogroom); includes picking at fingers, toes, or other body parts. 

Headbob (HB): head goes down and up quickly, usually accompanied with a hand slap and/or eye flash; an aggressive behavior.

Hand slap (HS): individual slaps palm of hand on surface, usually accompanied with a headbob and/or eye flash; an aggressive behavior.

Idle (ID): individual is stationary or not physically moving in cage, essentially doing nothing, however they may be exhibiting other behaviors that can accompany ID such as FO, (i.e., sitting and chewing food).

Inspect (IN): individual closely looks at, smells and/or touches the anogenital area of another.

Jaw Chomping (JC):  aka-jawing; individual, typically the male, chomps his jaws quickly; sometimes the teeth impact is audible; an aggressive behavior.

Legout (LO): individual holds their leg out behind or to the side and is oriented toward another individual; often physical contact occurs; an affiliative behavior.

Lipsmack (LS):  the tongue and lips are incorporated into this behavior; the tongue rapidly touches lips making a smacking sound; an affiliative behavior.

Mount (MNT): an individual approaches the back of another and elevates on hindleg(s) up and over another; may be in a dominant or sexual context.

Manipulate object (MO): individual uses their hands, feet, or mouth to manipulate an object (e.g., toy, cage, etc.).

Nipple contact (NC): infant has contact with mother’s nipple with mouth.  If sucking action is observed document as SK (see below).

Present for copulation (PC): individual presents anogential area to male which expands into a mount, intromission and copulation.

Play (PL): an individual, usually infants, juveniles, or adolescents, play with one another or self when it is indiscernible what they are playing with exactly (i.e., not MO, FO, etc) but may be observed as jumping, trotting, rolling around, wrestling, etc.

Present for noncopulation (PNC): an individual presents their anogential area to another that does not expand to a mount-intromission-copulation; may be exhibited as a submissive behavior or in a sexual context.

Protest (PT): infant, juvenile, or adolescent struggles to break physical contact with mother or other individual.

Reach Out (RO):  individual reaches out or raises arms toward another individual; may be one or both arms; an affiliative behavior.

Suckle (SK): infant is suckling from mother’s nipple; must observe sucking motion (jaw moves up and down and cheeks are indented) otherwise document at NC.

Steal (ST): infant is successful at taking food or object from mother or another individual.

Touch (TC): an individual reaches out to touch another calmly (not allogrooming or aggressively).

Travel (TR): an individual moves, via walking or jumping, in cage.

Vocalize (VO): includes a grunt, scream, bark,etc.

Watch (WA): an individual watches conspecifics or people.

Yawn (YN):  an individual yawns toward conspecifics or person, usually exhibited by a dominant individual toward a subordinate.