Baboons' Bizarre Behaviour Baffles Dutch Zoo

This is an odd one,

Zoologists are baffled by the strange behaviour of a troop of baboons at a Dutch zoo which have become inexplicably withdrawn, apparently fearful of an unseen threat. "They became panicked at the end of the day on Monday, they were hysterical, not jumping around but behaving strangely," zoologist Wijbren Landman of Emmen Dierenpark in the northern Netherlands told AFP on Friday. "On Tuesday and Wednesday they just sat in the trees or on the ground, hardly moving or eating," Landman said. The 112 east African monkeys also turned their backs on visitors. The zoo said it was the fourth time in 20 years that the baboons have behaved this way. Nevertheless, such behaviour has not been seen elsewhere, either in captivity or in the wild. The zoologist said he has no idea what happened on Monday to traumatise the baboons, who were all born in captivity and live on an island in the zoo.

Theories range from the baboons feeling an earthquake or some other natural disaster, them being spooked by an image on a visitors tshirt or a predator spooking them and even that it may be caused by a UFO. The zoologist says that none of these theories hold any water.

The baboons have slowly started to eat again and are starting to improve.

Aw poor guys,


Any thoughts on what could have caused this?
My initial thought was that it may have been some other animal or dog or something that got them spooked but according to the experts they would not have reacted that way an for that length of time,

so maybe they were just protesting at being held captive in the zoo lol


Link

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Not sure what could have caused it but I am a firm believer that animals are much more in tune with nature than we are and my bet is something with nature is the cause.

They sensed a disturbance in the force, how cool.
I would love to know what the other three times is.
Maybe they were all part of a weird research project or exposed to something by a specific doctor who checks up on them.

they just realized,,"its a cage",,,,,,

This group of baboons is from the same zoo as the one in the OPs thread. Would be interesting to know if they exhibited the same behavior at the same time as their companions.

That would make it a global event instead of a local one correct?
Oakland Zoo

Oakland Zoo is pleased to announce a new troop of hamadryas baboons has successfully been introduced and settled into the Baboon Cliffs exhibit. Upon arrival, the troop of baboons was made up of four: one male named Martijn, and three females named Maya, Maud, and Krista. However, the total count of baboon residents has now increased by one, due to the arrival of a baboon infant. Oakland Zoo has not had a baboon birth in more than twenty years. There are now a total of two troops, with ten baboons visible to guests.

"We are proud and excited to be contributing to the future of the hamadryas species. This new infant, as recommended by AZA, will help revitalize the genetics of hamadryas baboons in the U.S.," said Margaret Rousser, Zoological Manager.

Martijn, the newest troop leader, Maya, Maud, and Krista range in age from eight years old to twelve years old. They relocated to Oakland from the Emmen Zoo in the Netherlands. The international move was facilitated by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), which Oakland Zoo is accredited by and follows breeding recommendations.

Originally posted by Thorneblood
They sensed a disturbance in the force, how cool.
I would love to know what the other three times is.
Maybe they were all part of a weird research project or exposed to something by a specific doctor who checks up on them.

edit on 2-8-2013 by Thorneblood because: (no reason given)

Not only this but what about maybe a natural disaster they sensed in the past? When this happened the other 3 times was there possibly an earthquake, tornado, hurricane, etc somewhere nearby?

It would be interesting if someone had the dates to cross reference to see if they actually can sense something is wrong!

Cool find OP Poor guys/gals.....Hope they are all okay mentally

reply to post by Lady_Tuatha

The zoo said it was the fourth time in 20 years that the baboons have behaved this way.

I wish there were some way to find out the date of the other times this happened. Wouldn't it be interesting if each time it was just before some natural event like an earthquake or solar/celestial event.

eta Christfishenstein beat me to it by two minutes, oh well.

It might worth reviewing any available CCTV footage to see if their was a specific event at the time the behaviour began. It might also show if a predator got into their enclosure, or if as suggested an image on a t-shirt was to blame the wearer, image, and reaction may have been captured. Very odd indeed.

Double post

112 is a really big population for captive baboons to all have been born in captivity.

The 112 east African monkeys also turned their backs on visitors.

The zoo said it was the fourth time in 20 years that the baboons have behaved this way. Nevertheless, such behaviour has not been seen elsewhere, either in captivity or in the wild.

The zoologist said he has no idea what happened on Monday to traumatise the baboons, who were all born in captivity and live on an island in the zoo.

Some of them have to be Moved from other Zoo's or R&D into the exhibit at the earliest stages of its development for it to affect the whole group like that right?

Ok maybe this behavior is less worrying then it is troubling but if it makes you feel better. They really know what they are doing when they are toying with this particular monkey's genetic code.

Springer

First volume since 1965 to provide in-depth study of the baboon in biomedical research
Among all primates, baboons are the most widely used as models for the genetics of susceptibility to complex diseases, and they are the first nonhuman primate for which a framework genetic linkage map was established
In addition, the baboon genome is currently being sequenced and, as a result, the utility of this species for biomedical research will be dramatically increased
Building on the foundation of two earlier volumes, The Baboon in Biomedical Research returns in an updated edition that presents the variety of uses and the importance of the baboon in biomedical research today. With contributions from leading researchers who use the baboon model, the new edition, edited by John L. VandeBerg, Suzette D. Tardif, and Sarah Williams-Blangero, provides a cogent introduction to this nonhuman primate model and serves as a valuable guide for researchers as well as laboratory animal veterinarians.

The volume begins with a chapter on the baboon gene map, the first genetic linkage map developed for any nonhuman primate species. Subsequent chapters present the results of decades of research on basic biological characteristics of baboons: microbiology, reproductive biology, growth and development, behavior, and spontaneous pathology. The remaining chapters summarize the scientific contributions of baboons as models of human diseases or physiological or developmental characteristics, including neonatal lung disease, dental development, dyslipidemia and atherosclerosis, pregnancy, ingestive behaviors, infant nutrition, alcoholic liver disease, drug abuse, neuroimaging, epilepsy, and xenotransplantation. The baboon already has a 50-year history of significant contributions as a model for human states of health and disease. This volume highlights the exciting research that is currently being conducted with this animal model and suggests future directions for the baboon in biomedical research.

"The zoo said it was the fourth time in 20 years that the baboons have behaved this way."

I want to know what major disasters happened in those 4 incodents during those 20 years.

reply to post by Lady_Tuatha


I bet you can't say the title of this thread three times in a row fast.

Seriously though, I would think it to be some type of predator (real or perceived) to spook em and make them act abnormally.

perhaps radon gas escapingi s the andswer?

reply to post by Lady_Tuatha


instinct probably drove the group to do an activity that is pivotal to the social coherence of their group and since they are in captivity and could not perform said activity their social structure broke down in light of the frustrated exercise of group dynamics ........


it could be anything from an undocumented form of leadership passing from one individual to another by means of a voluntary suicide by drowning (no rivers in their habitat for example) to an expression of a symbiotic relationship with another species that is only expressed under certain conditions once in an entire generation for an unkown purpose.....

this is all speculation of coarse but I think I expressed my point. With anything that is meant to roam free.....nothing of their behavior can be determined to an exact response. Sure these monkeys may be playful and entertaining to zoo visitors usually.....not today though......

I look at any caged animal and think that even the most benign behavior could be potentially telling of a higher intelligence and as such a more convoluted set of consequences to its captivity.

reply to post by Lady_Tuatha


Maybe they just dont like being stared at any more.. Poor little fellas..

Originally posted by BobAthome
they just realized,,"its a cage",,,,,,

There's truth there, more than you think.
Now, imagine one of them became aware they are in captivity, and somehow managed to transfer the message to rest of the group.
Voila, we have a case of mass histeria, example from the book.

I like Mad Scientists playing God and breeding a new species of hyper intelligent baboons that will one day enslave and rule wilder parts of the Earth before beginning their own bizarre experiments on snakes...yea snake men made by mad scientist monkeys.


Think about it.

Goodbye and thanks for all the bananas.

Originally posted by CranialSponge
Goodbye and thanks for all the bananas.

I see what you did there.