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This curious baboon used a camera trap in the Serengeti to take an awesome selfie

Guia Del Prado   

This curious baboon used a camera trap in the Serengeti to take an awesome selfie
Science1 min read

The largest camera trap study ever, done in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania continues to reveal hidden gems from the park's unique wildlife. The 1.2 million sets of photos (three photos a set) reveal the daily lives of the Serengeti's wild inhabitants as they eat, play, nap, and even take inadvertent selfies.

One awesome find from the set is this solitary baboon who examines a camera trap and takes an artful selfie.

Most baboons living in the Serengeti form huge troops, sometimes numbering in the hundreds. They often spend hours grooming and eating the parasites clinging to fur.

Though the baboon troops mostly keep to themselves, they've been found in the same areas as massive herds of zebras and wildebeest, potentially to avoid predation by animals like lions. Wildebeest have even learned to respond to baboons' alarm calls.

The 434 square mile area where the 225 cameras were mounted sees an annual migration of 1.6 million wildebeest, zebra, and gazelles, according to the study published on June 9 in Scientific Data.

The cameras, mounted on trees and metal poles, takes three photos every time a combination of heat and movement. You can search Snapshot Serengeti's site to find your favorites.

NOW WATCH: Soon you can take selfies from the world's most expensive satellite - for free

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