TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – A group of hamadryas baboons now call ZooTampa home and are living it up in the Florida sunshine after coming to the state from a New York facility.
The six male baboons, ranging in age from 2-years-old to 11-years-old live in the zoo’s former chimpanzee habitat, which has since been modified.
It’s the first time the zoo has had hamadryas baboons, a species originally from Africa that lives in desert-like areas with rocky outcroppings.
Jane Lefave, animal care supervisor of primates at ZooTampa, said the baboons are loving their new home.
“The little kids are just running and jumping and having the best time playing in the stream and climbing the rocks. It’s a lot of fun for them,” she said. They’re foraging through the grass. They’re enjoying this Florida sunshine. They came to us from New York, so it was really cold when they left there and so they’re really enjoying this weather and getting to be outside and getting to know Florida now.”
The baboons are incredibly playful. Lefave said they are “busy” from the time they get outside, to the time they go back inside.
“It will really make you tired if you stand here and watch awhile because they never run out of energy. They’re like little Energizer bunnies from one end of the habitat to the next. It’s just a lot of fun to watch them. They’re having a blast,” she said.
The group of hamadryas baboons will be on display to guests in their new home starting Thursday.
