Are there bush babies (galagos) in Akagera National Park? Bush babies are rare to spot during the day and are usually seen at night when conducting night drives. These Saharan species have gray-brown to yellowish-brown fur with large eyes and ears.
These incredible creatures have long tails, long hind legs, soft woolly fur, and long upper portions of their feet. Interestingly, they have the ability to fold their ears, which they use to locate prey.
Their ears also play a role in electrical stimulation of a small region medial to the anterior frontal sulcus, which evokes contraversive eye movements.
Their eyes are relatively large with a rudimentary fovea, mainly supporting low-acuity vision. Because of this, they have a limited range of eye movements and rely heavily on head movements to explore new objects.
For survival, bush babies live in low forests, moving by quadrupedal walking and leaping. When they descend to the ground, they sit upright while searching for fruits, small birds, and gum from tree exudate.
They extract gum by gouging holes in trees and scraping the bark with the help of a tooth comb, which consists of their forward-tilted incisor and canine teeth.
Bush babies, often referred to as little night monkeys, have a gestation period of three to four months, usually giving birth to one or two young.
They are considered one of the smallest prosimian primate species, though they are not easily seen due to their shy nature. They are not pests, as they provide environmental and nutritional benefits.
Bush babies belong to the taxon Strepsirrhini, one of the two suborders of primates. Recently, this classification has been frequently debated in revised literature due to the increasing use of genetics.
Akagera National Park, named after the Akagera River, hosts a variety of species such as leopards, primates, and lions. In the past, these predators were commonly seen, but their populations have reduced due to rampant poisoning by communities aiming to protect their livestock.
However, smaller populations of predators like the mongoose species and side-striped jackals are still healthily represented. In 2014 and 2015, the reintroduction of lions and rhinos was carried out to restore life to the national park, which had been heavily affected by poaching.
Strict laws have since been imposed on those who encroach on the park.
Feel free to book night game drives at Akagera National Park for a chance to spot bush babies.
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