Gelada

• Common Name: Gelada Baboon
• Taxonomy Classification Year: 1835
• Monkey Size: 50 to 74 cm (19.69 to 29.13 in)
• Skin Color(s): Brown
• Habitat: Savanna or grassland
• Diet: Herbivorous
• Native Countries: Ethiopia

The gelada^[1] often called the gelada baboon, or the bleeding-heart monkey, is an Old-World monkey found only in the Ethiopian highlandsand living at 1, 800 to 4, 400 meters (5, 900 to 14, 400 feet) above sea level.

• Male Gelada baboons weigh an average of 20.25 kg. Members of both sexes have short faces and wide nostrils.
• They have short brown fur, and both males and females have a bare pectoral patch that is usually triangular and fringed with white hairs.
• The size and color of this spot depend on hormonal changes in women of both sexes. Both sexes have light eyelids that are used for expression.
• Males are characterized by the presence of whiskers and a hairy brown coat.

• Geladas aren’t territorial, and it is not unusual to find congregations of separate groups foraging together when conditions are favorable.
• They live in troops of one male with several females and their young. These groups are known as one male unit (OMUs).
• Geladas use visual cues like facial expressions and posture to communicate.
• Tactile communication between companions, foster partners, and mothers and their offspring can be essential in maintaining social bonds.
• There appears to be some chemical communication in this species, as males sometimes sniff the red breast patch of females in heat.