My adoptee Lesser Bushbaby's name is DarlingPlum [image], a female bushbaby born on June 14th, 1993. She was named by Dr. Simons, the Scientific Director of the Primate Center, and was named after a tree. Her mother is named Zamia, and her father is named Walnut. She had a fairly uneventful birth and was a healthy, active and alert infant. Her father was separated from them at birth since the males get quite jealous of their offspring and often attack them.

This past October, DarlingPlum and her mom were moved to a Free Range room in the Main Room with an aye-aye, two greater dwarf lemurs, two slow lorises, two slender lorises and a new male bushbaby. The introduction went well. They were a bit frightened at first, but did come to eat. Eventually, they were accepted by the other species and they all pretty well ignore one another.

Bushbabies are found throughout forests in South Africa and are likely able to survive due to their small size and nocturnal schedule. Like other nocturnal prosimians, their diet consists of fruit, flowers, nectar, gums and insects (though at the center, they eat Purina monkey chow and vegetables). They have long bushy tails and large prominent hairless ears with many folds. Being nocturnal, they rely on hearing and smell far more than their sight, and have a highly developed sense of hearing. They fold up their ears while jumping from branch to branch in order to protect them.

Typical of all critters that eat insects, bushbabies are most active at twilight and dawn, though also hunt during the dark. They mark with scent and are able to identify any strangers to their territory.

Bushbabies are very quick and can jump quite far for their size. The average bushbaby is about 4 to 5 inches tall, but is able to jump up to 10 feet either vertically or horizontally across branches. They also hop like little kangaroos when on the ground and have very strong hind legs.

Bushbabies gestate for about two months (120 days). When they are born, the mother will carry the babies around in her mouth, like a cat. Rather than leaving them alone in the nest, the mother will bring babies along on the hunt. She will then stash them in a safe place near where she is hunting.

Bushbabies are named after an African legend that says that human babies that are lost in the forest will become spirits of the night and turn into bushbabies. Because they are not with their families, they will cry. The cry of the bushbaby sounds remarkably like the sound of a human baby's cry.