Hamadryas Baboons Raydah Escarpment - Abha

Whilst birding the Raydah Escarpment near Abha in southwest Saudi Arabia I saw a number of groups of Hamadryas Baboon Papio hamadryasa species that is common in the Abha / Tanoumah area of the Asir Mountains with large groups seen all along the escarpments. It is the northernmost of all the baboons and is distinguished from other baboons by the male’s long, silver-grey shoulder cape (mane and mantle), and the pink or red rather than black face and rump. Males may have a body measurement of up to 80 cm and weigh 20–30 kg. They occur from north-eastern Africa, mainly in Ethiopia, but also eastern Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti and northern Somalia as well as the Arabian Peninsula, in Saudi Arabia and Yemen where it is the only native non-human primate. In Saudi Arabia they inhabit arid sub-desert, steppe, hilly areas, escarpments at elevations of up to 3,000 metres requiring cliffs for sleeping and finding water. They are primarily terrestrial but will sleep in trees or on cliffs at night. Each adult male controls a small group of females (a harem) and their young and remains bonded with the same females over several years, aggressively ‘herding’ any that wander, and retaining exclusive mating rights over the group.

Hamadryas Baboon – Jabal Fayfa

Whilst birding the Jabal Fayfa and Raydah Escarpment areas of Saudi Arabia we came across a number of Hamadryas Baboon Papio hamadryas. The Hamadryas Baboon is the northernmost of all the baboons and is distinguished from other baboons by the male’s long, silver-grey shoulder cape (mane and mantle), and the pink or red rather than black face and rump. They are large monkeys with a dog-like face, pronounced brow ridges, relatively long limbs with short digits, rather coarse fur, and a relatively short tail. The male is considerably larger than the female, often twice as large, and has a heavy silvery-grey coat, bushy cheeks, and large canine teeth whilst the juvenile and females are brown, with dark brown skin on the face and rump. Males may have a body measurement of up to 80 cm and weigh 20–30 kg; females weigh 10–15 kg and have a body length of 40–45 cm.  The tail adds a further 40–60 cm to the length, and ends in a small tuft. They occur from north-eastern Africa, mainly in Ethiopia, but also eastern Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti and northern Somalia as well as the Arabian Peninsula, in Saudi Arabia and Yemen where it is the only native non-human primate. In Saudi Arabia they inhabit arid sub-desert, steppe, hilly areas, escarpments at elevations of up to 3,000 metres requiring cliffs for sleeping and finding water. They are primarily terrestrial, but will sleep in trees or on cliffs at night. An opportunistic feeder, it will take a wide variety of foods, including grass, fruit, roots and tubers, seeds, leaves, buds and insects. The female usually gives birth to a single young with the new-born having black fur and pink skin, and is suckled for up to 15 months. Each adult male controls a small group of females (a harem) and their young, and remains bonded with the same females over several years, aggressively ‘herding’ any that wander, and retaining exclusive mating rights over the group. The females will often compete to groom and stay close to the male, and it is the male who dictates the group’s movements. The Hamadryas Baboon is listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Recent studies have suggested that the population of Hamadryas Baboons in Arabia colonised the peninsula much longer ago than previously thought, and shows a considerable amount of genetic variation compared to the African population.

Hamadryas Baboon – Raydah Escarpment

Whilst birding the Raydah Escarpment near Abha in southwest Saudi Arabia I saw a number of groups of Hamadryas Baboon Papio hamadryasa species that is common in the Abha / Tanoumah area of the Asir Mountains with large groups seen all along the escarpments. It is the northernmost of all the baboons and is distinguished from other baboons by the male’s long, silver-grey shoulder cape (mane and mantle), and the pink or red rather than black face and rump. Males may have a body measurement of up to 80 cm and weigh 20–30 kg. They occur from north-eastern Africa, mainly in Ethiopia, but also eastern Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti and northern Somalia as well as the Arabian Peninsula, in Saudi Arabia and Yemen where it is the only native non-human primate. In Saudi Arabia they inhabit arid sub-desert, steppe, hilly areas, escarpments at elevations of up to 3,000 metres requiring cliffs for sleeping and finding water. They are primarily terrestrial but will sleep in trees or on cliffs at night. Each adult male controls a small group of females (a harem) and their young and remains bonded with the same females over several years, aggressively ‘herding’ any that wander, and retaining exclusive mating rights over the group. The baboons would occasionally push rocks down the mountainside to try to move us away from their feeding areas and had quite a few young with them such as the one shown in the photograph below.

Hamadryas Baboon Raydah Escarpment near Abha – Record by Munzir Khan

Munzir saw Hamadryas Baboon Papio hamadryas whilst birding the Raydah Escarpment near Abha. This is a very good place the see the species with large troops somwtimes present. This species is the northernmost of all the baboons and is distinguished from other baboons by the male’s long, silver-grey shoulder cape (mane and mantle), and the pink or red rather than black face and rump. The male is considerably larger than the female, often twice as large, and has a heavy silvery-grey coat, bushy cheeks, and large canine teeth. Males may have a body measurement of up to 80 cm and weigh 20–30 kg. They occur in north-eastern Africa, mainly in Ethiopia, but also eastern Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti and northern Somalia as well as the Arabian Peninsula, in Saudi Arabia and Yemen. I thank Munzir for sending me his photo and for allowing me to use it on my website.

Hamadryas Baboon at Raydah Escarpment - Abha

A number of small troups of Hamadryas Baboon Papio hamadryas were seen whilst birding the Raydah Escarpment near Abha. This species is the northernmost of all the baboons and is distinguished from other baboons by the male’s long, silver-grey shoulder cape (mane and mantle), and the pink or red rather than black face and rump. They are large monkeys with a dog-like face, pronounced brow ridges, relatively long limbs with short digits, rather coarse fur, and a relatively short tail. The male is considerably larger than the female, often twice as large, and has a heavy silvery-grey coat, bushy cheeks, and large canine teeth whilst the juvenile and females are brown, with dark brown skin on the face and rump. Males may have a body measurement of up to 80 cm and weigh 20–30 kg; females weigh 10–15 kg and have a body length of 40–45 cm.  The tail adds a further 40–60 cm to the length, and ends in a small tuft. They occur in north-eastern Africa, mainly in Ethiopia, but also eastern Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti and northern Somalia as well as the Arabian Peninsula, in Saudi Arabia and Yemen where it is the only native non-human primate. In Saudi Arabia, they inhabit arid sub-desert, steppe, hilly areas, escarpments at elevations of up to 3,000 metres requiring cliffs for sleeping and finding water. They are primarily terrestrial, but will sleep in trees or on cliffs at night. An opportunistic feeder, it will take a wide variety of foods, including grass, fruit, roots and tubers, seeds, leaves, buds and insects. The female usually gives birth to a single young with the newborn having black fur and pink skin, and is suckled for up to 15 months. Each adult male controls a small group of females (a harem) and their young, and remains bonded with the same females over several years, aggressively ‘herding’ any that wander, and retaining exclusive mating rights over the group. The females will often compete to groom and stay close to the male, and it is the male who dictates the group’s movements. The Hamadryas Baboon is listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Recent studies have suggested that the population of Hamadryas Baboons in Arabia colonised the peninsula much longer ago than previously thought, and shows a considerable amount of genetic variation compared to the African population.

Southwest Arabian endemic area animals & birds

The southwest Arabian endemic area ecoregion, together with the Tihamah plain, is home to the majority of southwest Arabian endemic bird species. The montane juniper woodlands are vital habitat for these birds, such as the Yemen Linet Carduelis yemenensis, Yemen Thrush Turdus menachensis and Yemen Warbler Parisoma buryi. These species are dependent on juniper berries as a food source and also use the juniper trees for nesting. The dramatic cliff faces on the escarpment rim are home to large raptors such as the Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus and the Verreaux Eagle Aquila verreauxii and the small Barbary Falcon Falco pelegrinoides. As the Arabian Peninsula forms a bridge between the African and Eurasian continents, the Asir Mountains and the western highlands of Yemen provide an important resting spot for migrating birds. The high escarpment and cliffs are especially important to migrating raptors in autumn. Wadi Turabah in Saudi Arabia is the last place in the Arabian Peninsula where the Hammerkop Scopus umbretta can be found nesting, and the isolated and distinctive endemic race Pica pica asirensis is pressent on Shalla ad-Dhana, near Tanoumah. Large mammals inhabit these highlands. The Asir escarpment is known to be one of the last strongholds in Saudi Arabia of the Arabian Leopard Panthera pardus nimr, thought to number around 50 individuals. Hamadryas Baboon Papio hamadryas is expanding and has become common around cities such as Abha and Taif. The Caracal Caracal caracal schmitzi is still relatively widespread, Arabian Wolf Canis lupus arabs is now extremely rare and in danger of extinction through persecution and hybridization with feral dogs, Rock Hyrax Procavia capensis jayakari is still fairly common in areas around Taif, but its distribution range is fast decreasing and the Striped Hyaena Hyaena hyaena is also a resident of this area. In Saudi Arabia the Ministry of Agriculture and Water created the Asir National Park (4,150 km2) in 1981. In this park and its surrounding areas, there have been 34 mammal species, 245 bird species, 41 reptile species and 7 amphibian species recorded. The Saudi National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development (NCWCD), established in 1986, is the main body responsible for nature conservation and protected area management. The NCWCD has a comprehensive system plan for protected areas with one existing protected area, the Raydah Reserve (approximately 9 km2) one of the prime areas of intact juniper forest in this ecoregion. Poor regeneration among the juniper forests is causing concern among environmentalists. One cause may be infestation of cones by a tortricide moth with another possible cause the lack of seedling survival caused by human disturbance, grazing pressure or climatic change. This information is taken from the World Wide Fund for Nature data.

Arabian Leopard

Hamadryas Baboon - male

Stripped Hyaena

Male Hamadryas Baboon – Raydah Escarpment (Abha)

Whilst birding the Raydah Escarpment I saw a number of groups of Hamadryas Baboon Papio hamadryas a species that is common in the Abha / Tanoumah area of the Asir Mountains with large groups seen all along the escarpments. It is the northernmost of all the baboons and is distinguished from other baboons by the male’s long, silver-grey shoulder cape (mane and mantle), and the pink or red rather than black face and rump. Males may have a body measurement of up to 80 cm and weigh 20–30 kg. They occur from north-eastern Africa, mainly in Ethiopia, but also eastern Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti and northern Somalia as well as the Arabian Peninsula, in Saudi Arabia and Yemen where it is the only native non-human primate. In Saudi Arabia they inhabit arid sub-desert, steppe, hilly areas, escarpments at elevations of up to 3,000 metres requiring cliffs for sleeping and finding water. They are primarily terrestrial, but will sleep in trees or on cliffs at night. Each adult male controls a small group of females (a harem) and their young, and remains bonded with the same females over several years, aggressively ‘herding’ any that wander, and retaining exclusive mating rights over the group.

Male Hamadryas Baboon – Raydah Escarpment (Abha)

The Hamadryas Baboon Papio hamadryas is common in the Abha / Tanoumah area of the Asir Mountains with large groups seen all along the escarpments. It is the northernmost of all the baboons and is distinguished from other baboons by the male’s long, silver-grey shoulder cape (mane and mantle), and the pink or red rather than black face and rump. They are large monkeys with a dog-like face, pronounced brow ridges, relatively long limbs with short digits, rather coarse fur, and a relatively short tail. The male is considerably larger than the female, often twice as large, and has a heavy silvery-grey coat, bushy cheeks, and large canine teeth whilst the juvenile and females are brown, with dark brown skin on the face and rump. Males may have a body measurement of up to 80 cm and weigh 20–30 kg; females weigh 10–15 kg and have a body length of 40–45 cm. The tail adds a further 40–60 cm to the length, and ends in a small tuft. They occur from north-eastern Africa, mainly in Ethiopia, but also eastern Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti and northern Somalia as well as the Arabian Peninsula, in Saudi Arabia and Yemen where it is the only native non-human primate. In Saudi Arabia they inhabit arid sub-desert, steppe, hilly areas, escarpments at elevations of up to 3,000 metres requiring cliffs for sleeping and finding water. They are primarily terrestrial, but will sleep in trees or on cliffs at night. An opportunistic feeder, it will take a wide variety of foods, including grass, fruit, roots and tubers, seeds, leaves, buds and insects. The female usually gives birth to a single young with the new-born having black fur and pink skin, and is suckled for up to 15 months. Each adult male controls a small group of females (a harem) and their young, and remains bonded with the same females over several years, aggressively ‘herding’ any that wander, and retaining exclusive mating rights over the group. The females will often compete to groom and stay close to the male, and it is the male who dictates the group’s movements. The Hamadryas Baboon is listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Recent studies have suggested that the population of Hamadryas Baboons in Arabia colonised the peninsula much longer ago than previously thought, and shows a considerable amount of genetic variation compared to the African population.

Baboons & Swifts – Taif

A long weekend in Taif, in the west of the Kingdom meant we could see a few birds that are not seen in the Eastern Province. One evening we went to the mountain area of Taif and found plenty of swifts. There were a few Alpine Swifts flying around the highest areas but the majority of swifts were Little Swifts with a minimum of fifty birds present. This is a species I have only previously seen once in the southwest of Saudi Arabia at Malaki Dam Lake near Jizan. This area also had plenty of Hamadryas Baboons a species with a restricted range in the foothill of east Africa and western Arabia. The numbers we saw here were much lower than at Baha or Abha further south on the country but the animals were much tamer and friendlier. These Baboons are fed continually by the local people and look fat and healthy with a number of small young with mothers as well as adult males seen. The area to see the Baboons and swifts was just down the road from the major cable car station near the Ramada Inn hotel. This area is a good raptor migration watchpoint but none were seen whilst we were there.

The cable car ride takes about 15 minutes each was and costs 80 SAR for an adult and 40 SAR for a child return. The family really enjoyed the views and we saw the old pathway that used to be used hundreds of years ago for taking livestock down the mountain, below us from the cable car. There were tens of Tristram’s Starlings on the way down and a number had learnt how to hang onto the bottom of the cable cars and get a lift up the mountain, which was very amusing to see. Apart from this we saw a few rose gardens, as Taif is famous for its roses that are tuned into expensive rose perfume and rose water, as well as a few old watchtowers build of stone.

Abha animals & insects – Abha Region

Whilst in Abha and the surrounding areas we saw a number of interesting animals. The most common and easily seen were Hamadryas Baboons which were very common. The best site to see them was at the very top of Mount Soudah where a rubbish bin was very attractive to them. They could also be seen in various places along the roadside on the way from Abha to the top of Mount Soudah. Good photographic opportunities were available as they were in more natural habitat than at Baha where they always seemed to be around rubbish of one type or another. Quite a few were also seen whilst going down the Raydah Escarpment but as the road was very dangerous to drive the opportunities to photograph them here were limited. Whilst birdwatching the Mount Soudah pick-nick site area I found a butterfly on a number of occasions with a large eye on its under-wing and at the bottom of the cable car ride from Mount Soudah, which took about ten minutes and covered a distance of 5 kilometres, we saw an unidentified grasshopper as well as a number of butterflies including a very striking and confiding individual shown below. The cable car station is open from 09:00 hrs until 19:00 hrs and costs 80 riyals per adult with young children going free and is on the right hand side of the road just before the summit of Mount Soudah if going from Abha to the summit. A small unidentified lizard was seen at Habalah Hanging Village where it was seen basking in the sun on some steps of the old village and a brown butterfly was seen at Raydah Village at the bottom of the Raydah Escarpment. If anyone knows what any of these animals / insects are? please leave a message and let me know. 

Hamadryas Baboon

Hamadryas Baboon

Hamadryas Baboon

Hamadryas Baboon - Baha

The Hamadryas Baboon Papio hamadryas is the northernmost of all the baboons and is distinguished from other baboons by the male’s long, silver-grey shoulder cape (mane and mantle), and the pink or red rather than black face and rump. They are large monkeys with a dog-like face, pronounced brow ridges, relatively long limbs with short digits, rather coarse fur, and a relatively short tail. The male is considerably larger than the female, often twice as large, and has a heavy silvery-grey coat, bushy cheeks, and large canine teeth whilst the juvenile and females are brown, with dark brown skin on the face and rump. Males may have a body measurement of up to 80 cm and weigh 20–30 kg; females weigh 10–15 kg and have a body length of 40–45 cm.  The tail adds a further 40–60 cm to the length, and ends in a small tuft. They occur from north-eastern Africa, mainly in Ethiopia, but also eastern Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti and northern Somalia as well as the Arabian Peninsula, in Saudi Arabia and Yemen where it is the only native non-human primate. In Saudi Arabia they inhabit arid sub-desert, steppe, hilly areas, escarpments at elevations of up to 3,000 metres requiring cliffs for sleeping and finding water. They are primarily terrestrial, but will sleep in trees or on cliffs at night. An opportunistic feeder, it will take a wide variety of foods, including grass, fruit, roots and tubers, seeds, leaves, buds and insects. The female usually gives birth to a single young with the new-born having black fur and pink skin, and is suckled for up to 15 months. Each adult male controls a small group of females (a harem) and their young, and remains bonded with the same females over several years, aggressively ‘herding’ any that wander, and retaining exclusive mating rights over the group. The females will often compete to groom and stay close to the male, and it is the male who dictates the group’s movements. The Hamadryas Baboon is listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Recent studies have suggested that the population of Hamadryas Baboons in Arabia colonised the peninsula much longer ago than previously thought, and shows a considerable amount of genetic variation compared to the African population.