Tropical baboon thriving in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

BEIJING: The first Hamadryas baboon, the smallest of its kind born on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, is thriving in a zoo in northwest China's Qinghai Province.

"The successful breeding of the first baby baboon on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau will be an encouragement for introducing and reproducing tropical and sub-tropical primates in high-altitude areas, where low temperatures and lack of oxygen pose a big challenge for their reproduction," Qi Xinzhang, deputy director of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Wild Zoo said.

The male baboon was born on the plateau early this year to two adults moved there from a conventional lower-altitude location.


It is now able to look for food on its own.

Zoo keepers arrange activities to develop its taste, sight and environmental adaptability, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Hamadryas baboons usually resides in the Arabian Peninsula, and tropical and sub-tropical areas in Africa.

The baboon, which is placed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, is the world's smallest of the kind and has a life expectancy of 15 to 20 years.