Senegal Bushbaby
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Order: Primates
Family: Galagidae

[Photo] Senegal Bushbaby (Galago senegalensis). Date: 16 June 2006. Source: http://opencage.info/pics/large_6393.asp Location: 大阪市天王寺動物園 Tennouji zoo, Osaka. Copyright: OpenCage (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Opencage).

The Senegal Bushbaby (Galago senegalensis), also known as the Senegal Galago, the Lesser Galago or the Lesser Bush Baby, is a small, nocturnal primate, a member of the galago family Galagidae (sometimes called Galagonidae).

The name "bush baby" may come either from the animals' cries or from their appearance. They are agile leapers, and run swiftly along branches. They have large eyes, giving them good night vision; strong hind limbs; and long tails, which help them balance. Their diet is a mixture of insects and other small animals, fruit, and tree gums.

Bush babies are born with half-closed eyes, unable to move about independently. After a few days, the mother carries the infant in her mouth, and leaves it on convenient branches while feeding.

Adult females maintain territories, but share them with their offspring. Males leave their mothers' territories after puberty, but females remain, forming social groups consisting of closely-related females and their immature young. Adult males maintain separate territories, which overlap with those of the female social groups; generally, one adult male mates with all the females in an area. Males who have not established such territories sometimes form small bachelor groups.

Bush babies communicate both by calling to each other and by marking their paths with their urine. At the end of the night, group members use a special rallying call and gather to sleep in a nest made of leaves, in a group of branches, or in a hole in a tree.

Predation by chimpanzees
A recent study of chimpanzees revealed that bush babies are hunted by the chimpanzees using chimp-made spears. The chimpanzees have been shown to stab at the hidden bush babies and then smell or taste the end of their spear perhaps to see if they have drawn blood, though this method has a low success rate.

Subspecies
There are four subspecies of the Senegal Bushbaby:

Galago senegalensis senegalensis
Galago senegalensis braccatus
Galago senegalensis sotikae
Galago senegalensis dunni

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senegal_Bushbaby

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