Abstract:
A number of studies have been made on many different baboon populations. I studied the
feeding behavior of olive baboons (Papio anubis) in West Bugwe Forest Reserve, Busia District,
Uganda. Using direct observation method on one troop of baboons, I identified the food species
and food items they eat and determine their availability. I computed the preference of different
food species from the results obtained. Baboons are selective feeders. They fed from food
species ranging from trees to shrubs. A total of thirty-two plant species were counted in the forest
and the most abundant plant species except grasses were; Broussonetia papyrifera, among trees,
Olyra latifolia and Latana camara most abundant among creepers and shrubs respectively. The
highest percentage of food items eaten was leaves (54%), followed by seeds (32%) and lastly
Fruits (14%). The first five preferred foods were; Sterculia dawel, Senna spectabillis, Dodonea
angustifolia, Grewia calymmatosepala and Psidium guajava. Pearson rank correlation (r=-
0.5692, p=<0.05) was used to test the relationship between percentage density and preference,
which showed that there was a difference between the two. The feeding behavior of infant,
juveniles and adults was put into consideration. The study was done for three days on one troop
of baboons. With the help of this study, the olive baboon population in West Bugwe Forest
would be conserved.
