Final answer:
Female baboons engage in sexual activity according to hormonally controlled cycles, typically coinciding with ovulation. They can reproduce multiple times throughout their lives, with cycles that involve mating, gestation, and parental care. The complexity of their sexual and social behavior is aligned with that observed in other non-human primates.
Step-by-step explanation:
The period during which a female baboon is sexually active is not documented with precise duration in the wild, but drawing on the reproductive patterns of primates, one can infer that they follow a similar reproductive strategy to that observed in chimpanzees and other primates. Female baboons, like other female primates, undergo a hormonally controlled cycle and are sexually receptive or attractive to males during specific periods coinciding with ovulation. Outside of these periods, they may not engage actively in mating behavior, although unlike humans, their receptivity is closely linked to their hormonal cycle.
Given the gestation period of around 8-9 months and the prolonged parental care needed by the offspring, a female baboon's reproductive life involves alternating periods of sexual activity, pregnancy, and caring for the young. Taking into account the extended adolescent phase in primates, which for baboons can reach up to 8-13 years before reaching full maturity, and the usual pattern of giving birth only once every few years, a female baboon's sexually active years are likely largely dictated by these cycles of mating, gestation, and parental care.
However, it is critical to note that unlike many species that mate only during specific seasons, chimps and by extension potentially baboons can attempt reproduction at any time during their reproductive years, despite higher chances of pregnancy during ovulation. Additionally, primatologist research indicates that female baboons, as with certain other primates, may exhibit assertive sexual behavior, actively choosing when and with which mates to engage, which is a key aspect of their complex social structures.