Baby Hamadryas Baboon Debuts At San Diego Zoo

SAN DIEGO, CA — The San Diego Zoo has welcomed a baby hamadryas baboon.

The female baboon, named Makeda, was born June 25 to mother Anakin and father Lex.

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Zoo officials announced Tuesday that the infant and her mother are doing well. The rest of the baboon troop has also been attentive to the newborn, regularly checking on her.

Makeda's name is tied to Ethiopian heritage and refers to the Queen of Sheba, according to the zoo.

Female hamadryas baboons typically give birth to one infant at a time. During the first three weeks of life, newborns cling to their mother's hair as she moves around. The infants are born with pink skin and black hair, which turns brown after about a year.

Hamadryas baboons are native to parts of Ethiopia, Somalia, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The species is extinct in Egypt.

Visitors to the zoo's Africa Rocks habitat may see Makeda holding onto her mother or exploring nearby as she becomes more independent.