Ethiopia: Awash NP – Hamadryas Baboons
Hamadryas Baboons can only be found in the Horn of Africa, i.e. Ethiopia and Somalia. These are some of the largest baboons in the world, and males are just plain massive with a great mane of silver hair. These animals are also known as sacred as they have been considered so by the ancient Egyptians and are depicted in many art forms – sculptures, engravings, etc. The group that lives at the Awash National Park is one of the world’s largest, numbering over 2000 individuals. They inhabit high cliffs above the hot springs in the valley below. Every morning they descend down and cross the open grassland on the way to the palm forest surrounding the hot sprigs to feed on palm nuts. It’s a spectacular sight of baboon masses moving. And the hot springs are a sight to be seen as well – with crystal clear hot to warm water and palm tree forest swaying above.
