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\begin{document}

\title{Electricity pylons are used by olive baboons (\emph{Papio anubis}) as
sleeping sites in Laikipia, Kenya.}



\author[1]{Laiyon Lenguya}%
\author[2]{Lolimo Ewaton}%
\author[3]{Nicholas Pilfold}%
\affil[1]{Loisaba Conservancy}%
\affil[2]{Sanctuary Tambarare Camp Olpejeta}%
\affil[3]{San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance}%


\vspace{-1em}



  
  \date{May 28, 2024}


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\selectlanguage{english}
\begin{abstract}
Olive baboons (\emph{Papio anubis}) use fixed, secure and
naturally-occurring sleeping sites such as tall trees and rocky cliffs,
as protection from predators. Although these sleeping sites are safe,
they can be limited in availability. We documented olive baboons' use of
45m tall high-tension electrical pylons (towers) as sleeping sites in
Laikipia, Kenya. These observations suggest that olive baboons may use
anthropic infrastructure for sleeping sites in areas where naturally
occurring cliffs and tall trees are limited.%
\end{abstract}%



\sloppy


Manuscript Category

Nature Notes

Title

Electricity pylons are used by olive baboons (\emph{Papio anubis} ) as
sleeping sites in Laikipia, Kenya.

Authors

Laiyon Lenguya\textsuperscript{1*}, Lolimo Ewaton\textsuperscript{2},
Nicholas W. Pilfold\textsuperscript{3}

* Correspondence: lenguya01@gmail.com

Affiliations

\textsuperscript{1} Loisaba Conservancy, Nanyuki, Kenya

\textsuperscript{2} Sanctuary Tambarare Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Nanyuki,
Kenya

\textsuperscript{3} Conservation Science \& Wildlife Health, San Diego
Zoo Wildlife Alliance, San Diego, USA

Word Count

Abstract: 76

Body: 1022

Acknowledgements

This research was carried out with permission from the Wildlife Research
and Training Institute permit No. WRTI-0234-010-22. I extend my warm
gratitude to Miquel Torrents-Tic\selectlanguage{ngerman}ó for his support and Alexander
Pritchard, Jake Goheen, and Stanislaus Kivai for their initial insight
into the paper. Much appreciation to Ol Pejeta team: Samuel Mutisya,
Benard Gituku and Mercy Waithira for their kind thoughts and property
access.

Data Availability Statement

All raw data available in supporting materials.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest in the publication of this
manuscript.

Abstract

Olive baboons (\emph{Papio anubis} ) use fixed, secure and
naturally-occurring sleeping sites such as tall trees and rocky cliffs,
as protection from predators. Although these sleeping sites are safe,
they can be limited in availability. We documented olive baboons' use of
45 m tall high-tension electrical pylons (towers) as sleeping sites in
Laikipia, Kenya. These observations suggest that olive baboons may use
anthropic infrastructure for sleeping sites in areas where naturally
occurring cliffs and tall trees are limited.

Introduction

Olive baboons (\emph{Papio anubis,} hereafter \emph{`} baboon') use
secure and naturally-occurring sleeping sites such as tall trees and
cliffs as an anti-predator strategy while sleeping (Hamilton, 1982;
Isbell et al., 2018). In addition to predation risk, parasite
infestation and fecal-matter load within sleeping sites can influence
their frequency of use (Hausfater and Meade, 1982), and the limited
availability of good quality sites is generally thought to regulate
baboon distribution and group sizes (Cheney et al., 2003; Markham et
al., 2015; Suire et al., 2020). While other primate species have been
observed using anthropic structures such as rooftops and electricity
poles (Bracken et al., 2021; Brotcorne et al., 2014; Hoffman and
O'Riain, 2012; Sarker et al., 2005), this behavior has not been observed
in long-term baboon studies in Laikipia, Kenya (Bidner et al., 2018;
Butynski, and Jong, 2014; Danish and Palombit, 2014; Isbell et al.,
2017; Matsumoto-Oda, 2015; Strum, 2005; Suire et al., 2020). However,
recently installed electrical transmission pylons (hereafter `pylons')
to transmit power between Kenya and Ethiopia (Fichtner, 2009) are a
novel anthropic feature in an environment with relatively low human
disturbance. Here we document the use of pylons as sleeping sites by
baboons within \emph{Acacia} woodland-savannah and discuss the possible
reasons for their use.

Material and Methods

Observations were collected on March 5-6, 2023, at the 255
km\textsuperscript{2} Agriculture Development Corporation (ADC) Mutara
ranch within Laikipia County, Kenya. Laikipia County is an 8,700
km\textsuperscript{2} region of semi-arid bushland in central Kenya,
with a mean annual temperature of 18.3° C (range: 13.0-25.2° C), and a
mean total of 812mm of precipitation annually (monthly mean range:
23-133 mm). ADC Mutara is in the southern part of the greater
Laikipia-Samburu ecosystem, which is a mosaic of grassland,\emph{Euclea}
shrubland, as well as \emph{Acacia} and riverine woodland (Woodroffe and
Frank, 2005).

On the evening of March 5\textsuperscript{th} between 18:00 and 19:00,
we opportunistically encountered baboons roosting on pylons during
ongoing large mammal surveys by vehicle. After encountering, we scanned
the troops, counting and aging individuals. We used a GPS to record the
locations of the roosting sites. We used Empire Model 218 Binoculars
(7x35) to enhance counting individual baboons in each troop, and a Canon
EOS 1300D camera to take photos to confirm observations. We returned to
the sleeping sites on the morning of March 6\textsuperscript{th} at
06:30, to confirm presence as an overnight sleeping site. Due to the
limit replicates (\emph{n} = 3 troops, 1 event), we did not have
sufficient samples to conduct a statistical analysis.

Results

We recorded three troops using pylons as sleeping sites in two distinct
locations. The first sleeping site consisted of three different pylons
and two troops (N. 0.08278\selectlanguage{english}@, E. 36.75079@\selectlanguage{english}) see (Figure 1; Table 1). We
encountered another baboon troop using pylons as a sleeping site
encountered 2.5 km away (N. 0.0909@, \selectlanguage{english}E. 36.77193@\selectlanguage{english}). We observed two
pylons occupied by baboons, but visibility was minimal given low light,
and we could not identify demographics at each pylon. Baboons were still
atop all pylons asleep at 06:30 on March 6 when we arrived, confirming
that all three baboon troops used the pylons as sleeping sites. Total
troop sizes were estimated that morning (Table 1).

Discussion

We report a rare observation of three troops of olive baboons utilizing
electrical transmission pylons as sleeping sites in Laikipia County,
Kenya. Usually, in this landscape, tall \emph{Acacia} trees and rocky
cliffs are predominantly selected as sleeping sites by baboons (Bidner
et al., 2018; Hamilton, 1982; Suire et al., 2020). ADC Mutara has no
cliffs, the landscape is flat and dominated by short \emph{Vachellia
drepanolobium} (Figure 1). The lack of cliffs as an available sleeping
site possibly prompted the use of newly erected pylons as alternative
sleeping sites. For example, at Mpala Research Centre in Laikipia,
despite the availability of pylons from the same transmission line,
baboons still use cliffs and tall trees as their preferred sleeping
sites and have yet to be observed using pylons (LL, unpublished data).

Pylons are vertically erect towers, with tall, smooth crossbar pillars
that can be used by multiple baboons. Such a structure provides strong
physical support for resting baboons, and may be difficult for
predators, such as African leopards (\emph{Panthera pardus pardus} ) to
climb. Additionally, the pylons limited surface area may minimize
parasitic loads from poop piles, and thus could be cleaner than
naturally occurring sites. Pylons are also evenly spaced every 270 m,
limiting the distance travelled from a sleeping site to a baboon's
preferred foraging area. However, trees and cliffs likely offer greater
thermoregulatory benefits as sleeping sites due to their structure,
which shields baboons from the wind (Bidner et al., 2018; Hamilton,
1982; Markham et al., 2015), whereas the pylon structure is engineered
to reduce wind resistance. Since the pylons traverse natural habitat
such as ADC ranch and extend into small-scale farms, they may encourage
baboon crop raiding behavior, potentially resulting in heightened
human-wildlife conflicts in this region (Strum, 2010). The use of pylons
may therefore present a cost-benefit tradeoff based on local conditions,
and the factors that promote the use of such structures warrants further
study.

Brotcorne et al., (2014) reported that anthropic features influenced
sleeping site choice of long-tailed Macaques, whereas Sarker et al.,
(2005) reported that Rhesus macaques used rooftops and electricity poles
while foraging and resting. To our knowledge, there have been no
reported cases of pylon use as sleeping sites in olive baboons.
Electrocutions from use of anthropic power infrastructure have been
documented in five species of primates in Kenya including yellow baboons
(Katsis et al., 2018), but the survival risk posed by high-tension
electrical pylons as sleeping sites remains unknown. The use of pylons
as sleeping sites is intriguing, and given the potential risk of
electrocution, encourages further research.

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Press.\selectlanguage{english}
\begin{figure}[H]
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\includegraphics[width=0.70\columnwidth]{figures/image1/image1}

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\end{figure}

Figure 1

Three troops of olive baboons (\emph{Papio anubis} ) were observed on
March 5, 2023, using recently installed high-tension electric pylons as
sleeping sites within\emph{Acacia} woodland-savannah in Laikipia County,
Kenya.

\textbf{Hosted file}

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