Question 1

✖️ They have lost their natural fear of humans

Claire · Accepted Answer

Baboons living near human settlements are not naturally fearful of people. They encounter humans daily and often come into close contact. Constantly fleeing or avoiding any area where a person is present would be an unnecessary expenditure of energy and could interfere with reaching their preferred foraging sites.

However, baboons are highly perceptive and can recognize threatening body language. They may even remember individuals who have behaved aggressively toward them in the past and develop a learned aversion to specific people. That said, universal fear of humans is not inherent in troops that share habitats with people.

Historical records, including 17th and 18th-century Dutch East India Company journals, mention regular encounters with baboons¹, indicating that their lack of fear of nearby humans is not a recent development.

1 The Journal of Jan van Riebeeck. 1652-1662

Question 2

✖️ They have lost their natural fear of humans

Claire · Accepted Answer

Baboons living near human settlements are not naturally fearful of people. They encounter humans daily and often come into close contact. Constantly fleeing or avoiding any area where a person is present would be an unnecessary expenditure of energy and could interfere with reaching their preferred foraging sites.

However, baboons are highly perceptive and can recognize threatening body language. They may even remember individuals who have behaved aggressively toward them in the past and develop a learned aversion to specific people. That said, universal fear of humans is not inherent in troops that share habitats with people.

Historical records, including 17th and 18th-century Dutch East India Company journals, mention regular encounters with baboons¹, indicating that their lack of fear of nearby humans is not a recent development.