Reaction To Novel Objects in a Troop of Guinea Baboons: Approach and Manipulation

A troop of Guinea baboons living in an enclosure was exposed every day and for twelve consecutive days to a new object. The new object and the object(s) of the previous day(s) were presented simultaneously in the compound. The troop as a whole demonstrated excellent abilities to rapidly react to the new objects: 11 out of 12 new objects were discovered within a maximum of 3 min of their first presentation and were furthermore the first to be approached. An analysis conducted on data from age and sex subgroups showed the preponderant part played by juveniles and by some adult males in the discovery process and subsequent contacts with objects. The results are discussed within the conceptual frame of "cognitive mapping". In addition, the extent to which social factors (e.g. dominance) and perceptual and cognitive factors might determine the differential role of subgroups in the exploration and manipulation of objects is examined.