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We no longer
have the bushbabies, but they will always be close to our heart. So very
rare and precious.
More on Lesser Bushbabies
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Order: Primates
SubOrder: Prosimii
Family: Glagonidae
Genus: Galago
Species: moholi
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Related Species/Forms:
There are several species of bushbaby all classified in the genera
Galago, Galagoides and Otolemur, including the brown bushbaby
(Otolemur garnetti), also found at the Duke Primate Center.
Key Facts:
Size: About the size of a small chipmunk
Length: Head and body 6 - 6.5 inches (15 - 16.8cm), tail 4 - 11
inches (11 - 28cm)
Weight: 5 - 8 oz (140 - 230 g)
Coloration: Coat is gray with yellow-tinged underparts.
Natural Range: Central Southern Africa.
Lifestyle:
Social life: Nocturnal.forager, lives in groups of 1 - 3
individuals
Habitat: Semiarid Acacia woodland, savanna, forest edge
Diet: Gum and animal prey, including butterflies, moths, and
beetles.
Lifespan: 16 years
Reproduction:
Sexual maturity: 9 - 12 months
Mating: Every 4 - 8 months
Gestation: 123.5 days
Number of young: 1 - 2 offspring every 4 - 8 months
Reproduction:
In the wild, lesser bushbabies mate every 4 - 8 months, giving birth
to a single offspring first, and twins thereafter. Females ‘park’ their
infants in constructed nests while they search for food, moving them
away from danger by carrying them in their mouths.
Social Life:
Lesser bushbabies live in groups of 1 - 3 individuals. Males defend
territories that overlap those of 1 - 5 females. Groups forage
throughout the night and return to tree hollows to sleep during the day.
Habitat:
Lesser bushbabies are found throughout Central Southern Africa.
CONSERVATION CONCERNS
Population estimates in the wild are unknown. The species is believed
to be threatened by habitat loss throughout its range. The Duke Primate
Center currently houses a colony of 5 lesser bushbabies, all of which
were born in captivity.
DID YOU KNOW?
- Bushbabies are active at night.
- Lesser bushbabies sleep in tree hollows.
- Lesser bushbabies communicate territory by scent marking.
- Lesser bushbabies at the Duke Primate Center are named after
trees: Crabapple, Chestnut, Marbleberry, etc.
Bushbaby
Links
Duke University Primate
Center (DUPC):
Lesser Bushbaby:
www.duke.edu/web/primate/lesserbb.html
Brown Bushbaby:
www.duke.edu/web/primate/brownbb.html
Anthropology at College of the Siskiyous:
Galago (the Bushbaby family):
www.snowcrest.net/goehring/a2/primates/galago.htm
AfricaNet:
Bushbaby:
wildnetafrica.co.za/wildlifearticles/zoologic/1997/bushbaby.html
Virtual Safari:
Bushbaby:
home.san.rr.com/surfari/animals/primates/bushbaby.html
Oxford Brookes University:
Article on new Bushbaby species:
www.brookes.ac.uk/brookes/review/eleven.html
Chaffee Zoo (Fresno):
Lesser Bush Baby:
www.chaffeezoo.org/animals/bushbaby.html
Primate Info Net -
Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Center - University of Wisconsin -
Madison:
Karibu Southern Africa Safari:
Lesser Bushbaby pictures and info:
home.vicnet.net.au/~neils/africa/bushbaby.htm
DarlingPlum: an 'adopted' Bushbaby @ DUPC (w/ photo):
www.speakeasy.org/~delores/lemur/bushbaby.html

Linda
LaFrentz
903-389-5339
mailto:critterhouse@hotmail.com
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