Greatheart Press

Wildlife of the World

Puzzle 15 · African Forests and Highlands · Page 30 in print

Gelada Cliffs

The gelada is the world’s only primarily grass-eating primate; large bands graze the Ethiopian Highlands by day and retreat down sheer cliff faces to sleep on ledges at night.

Jump to a word
Geladas sit among rocks on an Ethiopian hillside.

Geladas sit among rocks on an Ethiopian hillside.

Species reference for Gelada Cliffs. The photograph does not necessarily show the population or place named in the puzzle.

(c) Ty Creelan, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Original record
Image changes

Resized and converted to JPEG for display; no subject alteration.

A gelada moves across a misty ridgeline.

A gelada moves across a misty ridgeline.

Species reference for Gelada Cliffs. The photograph does not necessarily show the population or place named in the puzzle.

(c) Oleg Kosterin, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 · Original record
Image changes

Resized and converted to JPEG for display; no subject alteration.

The words

  1. Bleeding Heart

    Geladas are called bleeding-heart baboons for the red skin on their chest.

    San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (opens a new tab)

  2. Cape of Hair

    Males have a long cape of hair on the back.

    San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (opens a new tab)

  3. Cliffs

    Geladas sleep on cliffs.

    San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (opens a new tab)

  4. Ethiopia

    Geladas live in the highlands of Ethiopia.

    Animal Diversity Web (opens a new tab)

  5. Gelada

    Geladas live on the high plateaus of the Ethiopian Highlands.

    San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (opens a new tab)

  6. Grassland

    Geladas live in the high grasslands of Ethiopia.

    Animal Diversity Web (opens a new tab)

  7. Grooming

    Cleaning one another's fur to keep bonds.

    Grooming is shared by all members of a family unit and keeps it stable.

    Animal Diversity Web (opens a new tab)

  8. Guassa

    The Guassa highlands in Ethiopia support geladas studied in their Afro-alpine grassland habitat.

    BMC Ecology and Evolution (opens a new tab) · San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (opens a new tab)

  9. Ledges

    Bands sleep together on cliffs and ledges.

    San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (opens a new tab)

  10. Lip Flip

    The threatening 'lip flip' exposes gums and teeth.

    San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (opens a new tab)

  11. Pale Eyelids

    Geladas raise the forehead to flash pale eyelids.

    San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (opens a new tab)

  12. Plateau

    Geladas climb to the plateaus to graze.

    San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (opens a new tab)

  13. Roots

    Geladas dig up roots and rhizomes when grass runs short.

    San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (opens a new tab)

  14. Shuffle Gait

    Geladas move in a peculiar bipedal shuffle gait as they eat.

    San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (opens a new tab)

  15. Simien

    Most geladas live in the Semien Mountains National Park.

    Animal Diversity Web (opens a new tab)

Sources

  1. Gelada Cliffs (source capture)San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance
  2. Gelada Cliffs (source capture)Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
  3. Gelada Cliffs (source capture)BMC Ecology and Evolution (peer-reviewed article, Ahmed et al. 2023), full text via Europe PMC
  4. Gelada Cliffs (source capture)San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance

How we choose sources and photographs