Scientific name: Galago moholi
Lifespan: Lesser bushbabies live 10 - 14 years in the wild.
Length and weight:
Including the tail, adult Lesser bushbabies measure up to 37 cm (14.5 inches) and weigh up to 150 g (5.3 ounces)
Diet and feeding:
Their diet consists of grasshoppers, scorpions, beetles, moths, fruit and the gum from acacia trees. The gum is dug out of the trees bark by the use of a set of teeth called the “toothcomb”.
Habitat:
The Lesser bushbaby takes preference to scrub forest, rain forest, savannah and woodland.
Breeding and reproduction:
After mating with 5 or six males and a gestation period of 4 months the female will give birth to a set of twins and on rare occasion triplets.
Most females will give birth to 2 sets of young per year.
At birth the babies weigh a measly 10 grams (0.3 ounces) and are born with their eyes open and fully furred. The babies are weaned by 5 – 6 weeks and are independent of their mother by 7 – 8 weeks.
Interesting facts on Lesser Bushbaby:
Lesser bushbabies are superb jumpers. When jumping from tree to tree they can reach distances of 6 – 7 meters (19.6 – 23 feet) and 2 meters (6.5 feet) on a vertical jump!
As a means of marking its territory the bushbaby urinates on its hands and jumps from branch to branch leaving its scent marks. The urine on the hands also helps for extra grip.
The males are also known to mark females by urinating on them.
The name “Bushbaby” originates from one of their vocalizations which sounds much like the sound of a ‘crying baby’. This species has at least 25 different vocalizations.
The Lesser bushbaby is also known as the Nag Apie in South Africa which means “night ape”.
They are incapable of moving their eyes within their sockets and as an adaptation to this are capable of turning their heads 180 degrees.
This species is the smallest of all primates in Africa.
They are a very solitary species but during the daytime will join up to sleep in groups of 5 or 6 in the hollow of a tree or old abandoned bird nests.
When hunting they will often leap from a tree to catch their prey. At the moment of gripping the prey the bushbaby shuts its eyes and flattens its ears to prevent any damage from the preys kicking legs or flapping wings. As soon as their prey is killed they open their eyes and ears again.
The lesser bushbaby has a second tongue. This smaller tongue is found below its normal tongue and is used to clean unwanted plant or animal debris from the toothcomb.
