Collective Behavior of Baboon Societies

Living in a group means not necessarily being able to do what you want, when you want. For groups to remain cohesive, their members must coordinate their activities; otherwise, they will fragment as individuals pursue diverging patterns of behavior and movement. How animal groups come to a consensus about where to go or what to do? Collective decisions like these are a primary challenge of group-living, and how group members overcome conflicts of interest to reach consensus is central to understanding the evolution of complex social systems like our own.

We are trying to answer this question by using GPS-tracking technology to simultaneously monitor the movements of entire baboon troops. 

Want to learn more? Watch the video below!

High-resolution tracking of an Olive baboon troop at the Mpala Research Center in Kenya. The movements of 25 members of this troop were monitored continuously by GPS collars that recorded one location estimate every second. 

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