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English: Toronto Zoo

The olive baboon is large and heavily built with sturdy limbs. Their long, pointed muzzles and the way they stand and walk on all four limbs - quadrupedally - makes them look rather doglike. When they run, it resembles the galloping of a horse. They have very powerful jaws and very long, pointed canine teeth. Eyes are closely set below a prominent brow ridge. The ears are large and nearly naked, but hidden in the thick pelage of the adult.

Adult males sport a thick grey ruff of fur around their cheeks. The skin on their faces, ears and on the ischial callosities of the buttocks is grey to black and covered with very fine hair. Hands and feet are wide with stubby digits; the thumb and forefinger being fully opposable with precision grip. The tail is non-prehensile and can measure from 40 - 58 cm. Tails are generally held high and away from the body, dropping downward at about the halfway point, making the tail appear bent. Females often use the tails of their youngsters as leashes to hang on to as the little ones learn to explore their habitat.

These baboons also have cheek pouches where they are able to store food as they move about foraging. Olive baboons range in height from 60 - 86 cm and weigh from 22 - 37 kg, with the males being larger - sometimes up to twice the size - and more powerful than the females. Young baboons are darker in colour, almost black, and lack the heavy facial fur. As a result, their ears tend to stick out, and look too big for their heads. As they mature, they lose the juvenile coloration and take on the speckled olive grey/green of the adults.