gelada (Theropithecus gelada), large baboonlike monkey that differs from true baboons in having the nostrils some distance from the tip of the muzzle. The gelada inhabits the mountains of Ethiopia and lives in groups among steep cliffs and high plateaus. Terrestrial and active during the day, it feeds on leaves, grasses, roots, and tubers.
The gelada is a stocky primate with white eyelids, brown fur, a tufted tail, and a bald pink chest. The male bears a long, heavy mane and may be more than 70 cm (28 inches) long, excluding the somewhat shorter tail. Weight is about 19 kg (42 pounds), but the female is markedly smaller, only 12 kg. The female has a necklacelike row of bead-shaped fleshy growths along the edges of the bare chest patch. The social group consists of a male and several females. However, groups often combine with each other and with bachelor groups of males to form a large foraging herd several hundred strong. The gelada belongs to the Old World monkey family, Cercopithecidae.