Senegal Galago (Galago senegalensis) Profile, Description

(Last Updated On: May 24, 2023)

Senegal galago is also known as Bushbaby with the scientific name Galago senegalensis. A Senegal Galego, as well as the lesser Galego, is popular as a lesser Bushbaby. It is a small, nocturnal primate, that comes from the family Galagidae.

Small, saucer-eyed primates known as bush babies, or galagos, spend most of their life in trees. There are at least 20 species of galago identified, but many more, according to some experts, have yet to be found. All galagos are thought to be nocturnal and are also referred to as “night monkeys” or “nagapies” in Afrikaans.

A tiny, nocturnal monkey called the Senegal bushbaby (Galago senegalensis) is also known as the Senegal galago, the smaller galago, or the lesser bush baby. A Senegal bushbaby, sometimes known as a galago, has a long bushy tail, enormous eyes that resemble saucers, and an unusual, peculiar, loud scream. In captivity, they live for around 10 years, but in the wild, they probably only survive for 3 to 4 years. Typical life span. Status: 10 years in captivity.

The name “Bush Baby” may come from the animals’ crying or their presence. They run fast with sharp lappers and branches. They live south of the nearby islands, including the Sahara and Zanzibar. They live in dry wooded areas and savannah zones.

Senegal Galago profile

Senegal galago is a small primate (130 mm and 95 – 300 g) with wavy thick wool, which ranges from silver-gray to dark brown to give its eyes a big, good night; a Rigid pump organ; And a long tail, which helps maintain their balance.

Their ears are made up of four parts that can bend individually, helping them to hear when pests are hunted at night. Their universal diet is a mixture of birds and insects, fruits, seeds, flowers, eggs, nuts, and other small organisms, including plantains.

Senegal galago breeds twice a year, at the beginning of the rainy season (November) and late (February). They are polygamists and women tie baby nests to their leaves. They have 1 – 2 babies per litter, the gestation period is 110 – 120 days.

Senegal Galago is born with half-closed eyes, unable to move independently. A few days later, the mother takes her baby in her mouth and puts it on a convenient branch while feeding.

Geographical Extent

South of the Sahara, Africa is home to a population of bush infants. Additionally, other neighboring islands, like Zanzibar, are included in their area.

Habitat

Lesser bush babies are able to survive in dry environments with ease. They are typically restricted to the southern point of Africa and the savannah woods south of the Sahara.

Behavior

Bush babies are social, nocturnal creatures that spend the day sleeping in dense vegetation, tree forks, hollow trees, or abandoned bird nests. They often engage in their nocturnal activities alone, however, they typically sleep in groups of several individuals.

They may move quite slowly if disturbed during the day, but when disturbed at night, they become active and agile, leaping up to three to five meters in a single motion. On a flat surface, bush babies may hop like little kangaroos, but they often move through the trees by leaping and climbing.

They wet their hands and feet with urine, which is thought to assist them cling to trees and may also serve as a scent-marking mechanism. They are known for their high-pitched chirping cry, which is most frequently heard in the morning and evening.

Diet and food habits

Bush babies eat at night and only in the daytime. Although grasshoppers are their preferred meal, they will also eat tiny birds, eggs, fruits, seeds, and flowers. During the rainy seasons, they mostly eat insects, but during the dry seasons, they only consume the gum that some trees in the acacia-dominated woodlands exude.

Family life

Adult Senegal Galago women maintain territories but share them with their children. Men leave their mothers’ territories after puberty, but females remain and form social groups that are closely related to groups of women and their immature youth Adult males maintain separate territories, which overlap with female social groups.

Usually, there is one adult male partner with all the females in a region. The Senegal galago male who did not establish this territory sometimes formed small bachelor groups.

The Senegal galago communicates both by calling each other and marking their way to the urine. At the end of the night, members of the group use a special rallying call and gather to sleep in a leaf-framed house, in a few branches, or in a tree hole.

Predation by chimpanzees

Galago predation undoubtedly occurs, albeit there aren’t many details. Predators including owls, snakes, and small cats are likely. Bush babies are known to jump through the branches to escape predators. Some species of Galago have been observed to crowd smaller predators. They utilize alarm cries to warn conspecifics of danger.

A recent study of western chimpanzees revealed that local shrimps hunt bushbabies in Senegal using fashionable spears [studies have shown that shrimps searched for traps where any Senegal galago can expect to sleep properly.

When this type of chicken is found, shrimps use a tooth to break a branch from a nearby tree and sharpen the edge.

They will then quickly and repeatedly stab idols. After the stabbing, they removed the wooden spear to taste or smell the tip, probably wanting blood. Once the success is confirmed, they enter or break the chicken, retrieve Bushbabu’s body, and eat it.

Although this method has once been successful in twenty-two attempts, it is more powerful than the conventional method of chasing small mammals and tearing their skulls at nearby rocks.

Physical Description

The Galago senegalensis has a 130 mm average length. The tail can be between 15 and 41 mm long. The genus’ members range in weight from 95 to 300 g.

Galago sensgalensis has thick, woolly, rather long, and wavy fur that is a light gray to brown color on top and a little bit lighter below. The huge ears have four transverse ridges that may be bent back individually or simultaneously and twisted downward from the tips to the base.

Flat disks of thickened skin at the tips of the fingers and toes help animals hold tree branches and slippery surfaces. Their fleshy tongues feature a cartilaginous protrusion underneath that acts as a second tongue for grooming purposes when used in conjunction with the front teeth.

Galagos’ tarsi are considerably elongated, reaching a length of around one-third of their shinbone, which enables them to adopt the kangaroo-like hopping gait. Galagos are also able to make big leaps because of the significantly increased muscle mass in their rear legs.

Reproduction

Galagos typically reproduce in polygynous pairs. Males compete for access to several females’ home ranges. The ability of men to compete is typically correlated with their size.

Lesser bushbabies breed twice a year, first at the beginning of the rainy season in November and once again at the conclusion of the rainy season in February. In a nest made of leaves, females give birth to and rear their young. Bush babies typically have one to two young in each litter (rarely three), and they give birth between April and November after gestating for 110 to 120 days. Although they are able to eat solid food at the end of the first month, young bush babies typically breastfeed for around three and a half months.

For around three and a half months, the mother breastfeeds her child. The young often cling to the mother’s fur while being transported, or she may carry them by the nape of their necks in her mouth. Additionally, the mother forages while leaving her young unattended in the nest. There is no documentation regarding how men should care for their parents.

As a Pet

Is it possible to keep a Senegal bushbaby as a pet? Unfortunately, there are a number of reasons why bushbabies do not make suitable pets. To begin with, it is quite difficult for the typical individual to keep even little primates in captivity.

They are very clever, energetic, and curious creatures who need continual stimulation and enrichment to remain content and healthy. As of 2020, the average price of a bigger bush baby in the US is $4,000+.

Home Range

Male Galago species often have broader home ranges than female Galago species. The home range of a dominant male may overlap that of several females.

Communicating and Perceiving

In all countries, communication uses a variety of modalities.

Between conspecifics, visual communication is employed, such as body posture. Additionally, it is known that these animals exhibit a wide range of facial expressions to communicate emotional states including aggression, affiliation, and fear.

While enhancing grip, urinating on hands before walking also enables animals to leave smell marks on their territories.

The lives of bush babies include a significant amount of tactile communication in the forms of play, aggression, and grooming. Tactile communication is particularly crucial between mothers and their children as well as between partners.

Finally, verbal communication amongst bush babies is known to occur. Alarm, fear, aggression, and contact calls are all often made. In fact, some of these animals’ sounds resemble the cries of human babies, which is how their common name came to be.

Ecosystem Functions

These animals likely aid in controlling the populations of their prey as insect predators. Through their frugivory, they may also assist in the dispersion of seeds. They may have an impact on predator populations as a potential prey species.

Subspecies of Senegal galago

There are four subspecies of the Senegal bushbaby:

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

Conservation Status

One of the most successful African prosimians is the smaller bush baby. In South Africa, they have been extensively studied. For most of its range, Galago senegalensis is classified in CITES Appendix II, while it is included in Appendix III in Ghana.

Senegal Galago (Galago senegalensis) Profile, Description