No evidence of reactive avoidance of baboons (Papio ursinus and Papio anubis) to the presence of predators

Predators exert strong selective pressure on prey species, shaping their behavioral adaptations. Prey species use proactive responses, such as site selection and the adjustment of daily activity patterns to anticipate and avoid predation exposure. In contrast, reactive responses, including fleeing, referential signaling and retaliation, occur after encountering a predator to mitigate the immediate predation risk. The presence of a predator in an area can also generate longer-term responses, such as reactive avoidance, defined here as the temporary avoidance of the area following the passage of a predator. Such a long-term reactive response remains understudied in primates. To investigate reactive avoidance, we analyzed an extensive camera trap data set of 3,042 detections (defined here as a motion-triggered event of three pictures per trigger during the day and one picture at night) of both chacma (Papio ursinus) and olive (Papio anubis) baboons, including 6,958 detections of their main predators, lions (Panthera leo), leopards (Panthera pardus) and spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta), in four savanna sites (Madikwe Game Reserve, Tswalu Kalahari Private Wildlife Reserve and the Associated Private Nature Reserves, South Africa; Serengeti National Park, Tanzania). We examined whether baboons display species-specific reactive avoidance towards predators up to 72 hours after the detection of a predator using randomization tests. We found no significant decrease in baboon presence (defined as the number of baboon detections) 0 to 24 hours, 24 to 48 hours and 48 to 72 hours after the detection of any predator species. These results suggest that baboons may not display reactive avoidance and rely on alternative predator-avoidance strategies, such as proactive avoidance or aggressive retaliation, to mitigate predation risk.