baboon grooming | pen & ink

This pen-and-ink artwork captures one of the most important behaviours in baboon society: grooming. More than simple hygiene, grooming is the foundation of their social structure. Through careful picking and combing of fur, baboons maintain bonds, ease tensions, and reinforce trust within the troop. Grooming helps stabilise their complex hierarchy. Higher-ranking individuals often receive more grooming, while lower-ranking members use it as a way to build alliances and maintain peace. Mothers groom their young to comfort them, and juveniles practise these behaviours as part of learning their place in troop life. For baboons, grooming is communication — a quiet exchange that strengthens relationships and keeps the group cohesive. This artwork reflects that intimate connection: a moment of calm cooperation in a species known for its energy, intelligence, and tightly knit social world.