Baboon Characteristics: Average size • Sociable • Proud • Inquisitive • Respectful • Unsettled
Scientific Name: Papio Ursinus
Collective Term: A shrewdness of baboons.

The Playful Baboon

Aah the lighter side of the animal kingdom. It takes brains to be quick-witted and amusing and the baboon has plenty of them. Baboon personalities are also affectionate creatures, and if you were to watch a family of baboons at play, you'd be struck by their relaxed attitudes and constant touching that goes on between them. There is also a very clear hierarchy in the baboon family. Parents rule the roost, ever ready to teach and chastise misbehaving youngsters, and the father assumes his role as a traditional dominant male. Baboons may be conservative in their family structure, but idea of all-work-and-no-play makes their skin crawl, so games and lighthearted fun remain the primary focus of its genteel life. Baboons function best during the daylight hours, preferring to spend nights quietly in the company of their family.

Baboon Personality Highlights

Baboon personalities come in all shapes and sizes, but are usually powerfully built, smaller individuals with bright appealing eyes. Intelligent and shrewd, they are highly adaptable individuals, and as students of the lighter side of life there is nothing they enjoy more than indulging in complicated practical jokes or impromptu comedic performances.

Arguably, baboon personalities are neither handsome nor plain, but no one can argue that their personalities are engaging and charming. Their most noticeable physical characteristic is an elastic and expressive face, and with their animated communication style they delight in being the center of attention. Baboons place little value on physical exertion, which is why they have a tendency to gain weight in later life.

Baboon Personalities Love Interacting

Intensely social animals, baboons work hard to maintain their large, well-run families and insist on order in their households -- brooking no disagreement from mates or children. Although they are rarely aggressive towards members of their own family, they'll never back down from a physical confrontation. When threatened, they are formidable fighters with whom even larger animal personalities think twice before initiating conflict.

Baboons are not Exactly Hard Workers

Disdain for physical work leaves baboons dissatisfied with manual labor unless it contains a strong creative component. In fact, the !Kung tribes of Southern Africa believe that baboons are careful not to let people hear them talk lest they be put to work. While physical exertion may not be their thing, their curious natures make them perfect for investigative work or journalism. Ultimately, however, they only find true happiness when performing as comedians or actors.

Baboons in the Wild

Because of the baboon's close relationship to man, researchers have long been drawn to the study of baboon society. Baboon troops consist of females with their young and a few older males, and within the troop, a clearly defined social structure is apparent. Unlike herds of antelope, in which the dominant males must work hard at keeping the herd together, baboons coexist amicably with little indication of coercion. When food is abundant, troops are large and can support many males, but where food is scarce, most troops have only one male and pregnant females do not have to compete for scarce resources.

Careers & Hobbies

Investigator: Paying attention to detail is a prerequisite to being an investigator, and with their extra-keen eyesight, baboons do this in spades.
Journalist: If journalism is about paying attention to the world, then it makes sense why baboons excel in the field; sharp eyes, sharp mind and sharp tongue in a dynamic package.
Artist: Sometimes seeing the world from a new perspective is all it takes to create exceptional art -- which explains why so many famous artists are baboons.
Entertainer: Be honest. Baboons are the most entertaining animals in the zoo. And the human zoo too. There's nothing more to say.
Comedian: The key to being a successful comedian is not putting yourself above your audience. No one does this better than a baboon, who never takes himself seriously anyway.

Love & Friendship

Baboons are highly regarded as lovers and are frisky and creative in the bedroom. An unmarried baboon would never deny itself an outlet for its healthy libido and won’t take NO for an answer.. When a baboon's on the prowl, everyone is game.

The baboon's compulsive need for romance can be quite overwhelming, and when it's denied passion or tenderness in its relationship, heartbreak and anger inevitably follow. And once hostility has set in, the relationship is done forever... a baboon will never forgive being scorned.

 Baboons look forward to marriage even though it might take them time to commit. Its choice in a permanent mate is generally well thought out and -- once it ties that knot -- will usually mate for life. Ideal partners are those that can match its high energy and enthusiasm, but baboons should be cautious about the advances of bird personalities, for although drawn to their free-spirited lifestyles, the bird's unpredictable and capricious nature tends to vex and irritate the baboon's need for romantic stability.

Famous Baboon Personalities:

Robin Williams

A classic baboon personality, Robin Williams used physical gags and funny voices to entertain millions of people around the world.

Jim Carrey

It's not hard to see the baboon in Jim Carrey, especially in his early comedies. Loose-limbed, quick-tongued, and fearless when it comes to offending people.

Conan O'Brien

Besides being a successful comedian (and former writer for The Simpsons), Conan O'Brien displays another obvious baboon trait - his love for talking to people and making them laugh.