Mohol Bushbaby
( lesser bushbaby, lesser galago or mohol bushbaby )
- Galago moholi
- IUCN Status: Least Concern
- Trend: decreasing
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Mammalia
- Order: Primates
- Suborder: Strepsirrhini
- Family: Galagidae
- Genus: Galago
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General Information
The Mohol Galago also known as a bushbaby is one of the smallest primates. It is physically very similar to the Senegal bushbaby, and was formerly considered to be its southern race. It is called a bushbaby because of its loud wailing scream, the bushbaby is an elusive tree creature, usually only spotted on night drives and then only its red eyes can be seen high up in the trees.
Description
The Mohol bushbaby is a medium size species with a broad head, with a short muzzle, orange eyes and diamond-shaped black eye-rings. The nose-stripe is whitish and the ears are large and grey. The dorsal surface of the body has a greyish-brown pelage, and the underparts are white, sometimes with a yellowish tinge. The flanks, inside of the limbs, hands and feet are yellowish. The fingers and toes have spatulate tips. The tail is darker than the rest of the fur but is not very bushy.- Length: 15 cm
Ecology & Behaviour
Bush babies have large, round eyes for good night vision and batlike ears that enable them to track insect prey in the dark. Fast, agile and accurate, they catch some insects on the ground and snatch others from the air. As they jump through thorn bush or thick growth, they fold their delicate ears flat against their heads to protect them. They fold them during rest, too. They feed predominantly on insects and acacia tree gum. Galagos are tree dwelling primates and are capable of leaping significant distances, up to and sometimes greater than 2.5 m. Using flattened disks on their feet and hands as a way of grasping branches. However they do walk on the ground sometimes, either bipedally or on all fours.
Distribution & Habitat
It is found in Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Bush babies hide during the day in order to avoid contact with predators such as eagles and large snakes. Since they are easily captured on ground they mostly stay in trees and rely on their extraordinary jumping capabilities.
Interaction with Humans
The bush baby also refers to a myth that is used to scare children to stay indoors at night. Most likely arising from the baby-like cry, the unusual nature evolved into a myth about a powerful animal that can kidnap humans. It is also said that wild bushbabies/galagos in Nigeria can never be found dead on plain ground. Rather, they make a nest of sticks, leaves or branches to die in. Endangerment of the species in sub-Saharan Africa has made this claim difficult to verify.
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