Many South Africans will be familiar with bushbabies – or, at least, with their distinctive call. The small animal, more formally known as the thick-tailed greater galago, takes its common name from that call; it sounds like a crying baby.
Bushbabies are primates. They have large eyes and are nocturnal creatures. They’re usually spotted meandering through tall trees at night in search of fruit to eat.
Very little research has been conducted about bushbabies in South Africa since the 1980s, partly because they are not gregarious or easy to observe. And almost nothing is known about what physiological mechanisms they and other African primates use to cope with environmental and social changes. Climate change and human encroachment on their habitat, for example, may affect their food sources, their reproductive success, and possibly their survival. We set out to help fill in this knowledge gap.
Even bushbabies get stressed: here's how we know, and what it means
Bushbabies are primates. They have large eyes and are nocturnal creatures. They’re usually spotted meandering through tall trees at night in search of fruit to eat.
Very little research has been conducted about bushbabies in South Africa since the 1980s, partly because they are not gregarious or easy to observe. And almost nothing is known about what physiological mechanisms they and other African primates use to cope with environmental and social changes. Climate change and human encroachment on their habitat, for example, may affect their food sources, their reproductive success, and possibly their survival. We set out to help fill in this knowledge gap.
Even bushbabies get stressed: here's how we know, and what it means