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I.R Baboon got no pants.

I.R Baboon from I Am Weasel

I.R Baboon got nothing to hide.

It has been decades since I watched the cartoon in earnest. I have forgotten most of the lore. One thing I do remember is thinking the baboon is a girl and the weasel is a boy. So I am surprised to read the Wikipedia page that says I.R is male.

I am happy to agree I.M Weasel is meant to be a man. He is altogether a more civilised and more human character, who speaks perfect Oxford English in the sonorous tones of Michael Dorn. K'plah!

But the Baboon has a crude cartoon voice. Speaks broken English, in what I imagine a real baboon would sound like if it learnt to speak. And we all know boy baboons look the same as girl baboons.

Is there any canon reason to believe I.R is a pretty lady baboon and not a smelly-yucky boy baboon?

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He's referred to as such in the opening credits:

♪ I.R. Baboon reigns king in his mind ♪
♪ He's just as good as the weasely kind ♪
♪ But round every corner he's likely to find ♪

If you're looking for self-identification, he identifies as a man (I.R. on Sun):

I.R. Baboon: Oooh! I your man! I.R. Baboon- First astronaut on sun!

Quotes from Wikiquote.

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    Opening Credits? Gosh, I should be less trigger happy with my questions!
    – Daron
    Mar 10 at 19:34
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While I doubt that the details of sexual dimorphism in baboons was not top of the animators' priorities, real female Hamadryas baboons have a dark face and buttocks and no mane. I.R. has the typical male pink face, red buttocks and a mane of grey hair.

Females only develop the red buttocks when they are in oestrus, it serves as a power attraction to any male.

Here are a pair of females showing these traits:

enter image description here

Image cropped from Duke Today, BABOON MATRIARCHS ENJOY LESS STRESS

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    This might be the reason. Don't the lady baboon's buttocks become even bigger and redder than the boys' when they are in oestrus? I would have known this at age 10. It might be why I thought Baboon was a girl.
    – Daron
    Mar 11 at 11:21
  • Yes, I've added a line about œstrus
    – James K
    Mar 11 at 13:27

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