Bekele Afework (Professor)Abu Kelil2018-07-032023-11-092018-07-032023-11-092011-06http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/5784Gelada baboon (Theropithecus gelada) belongs to one of the few primate genera endemic to Ethiopia. Theropithecus gelada is the only living species of its genus. The present research was conducted from August 2010 to May 2011 to determine the habitat preference, population size, feeding ecology, distribution pattern, activity and ranging patterns of the gelada baboon subspecies (Theropithecus gelada unnamed sub-species), in Indato cliff, eastern Arsi, Ethiopia. Vegetation composition in the home range was determined by quadrat sampling method. The activity pattern, feeding ecology and ranging behaviour were studied with 15 minutes interval scan sampling. The population size of the geladas was determined from total (direct) count. A total of 529 individuals were recorded with a density of 0.34 gelada baboon/km2. Feeding comprised the major activity (41.73%), followed by moving (20.27%), resting (18.98%), grooming (9.2%), playing (5.1%), aggression (3.26%), sexual activity (1.43%) and drinking (0.03%). Adult females spend 45.77% of the time feeding and 15.71% of their time resting. Adult males spend 39.23% of their time feeding and 29.21% through resting. The overall diet composition of gelada baboon was dominated by short grass blades contributing to 34.87%. Grass roots and long grass blades made the second and third largest portion of the overall diet of gelada baboons at 25.24% and 18.67%, respectively. Gelada baboon also consumed unidentified tubers (7.54%), herb leaves (7.30%), others (3.01%), herb roots (1.69%) and corms (1.67%). Gelada baboon consumed a total of 10 plant species which accounted for 100% of their diet over the course of the study period. Of these, the top four accounted for 97.21% of their overall diet. Jaldoo (Hyparrhenia sp) contributed 49.37% and Qarasoo (Hyparrhenia hirta) contributed 38.11% of their diet. The mean daily range length for the study troop was 1004.6 m and the average home range size was 4.91km2. The narrow ecological niche of the species may be a threat for its survival due to grazing by cattle. Appropriate management action should be taken to conserve the species and their most important food resources. Key words: Activity, diet, Gelada baboon, home range, Indato Forest, population sizeenActivitydietGelada baboonhome rangeIndato Forestpopulation sizeThesis