Gabon bushbaby facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Gabon bushbaby |
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| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Suborder: | Strepsirrhini |
| Family: | Galagidae |
| Genus: | Sciurocheirus |
| Species: |
S. gabonensis
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| Binomial name | |
| Sciurocheirus gabonensis (J. E. Gray, 1863)
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| Gabon bushbaby range | |
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The Gabon bushbaby (Sciurocheirus gabonensis) is a small, furry primate that lives in the forests of Central Africa. It belongs to a group of animals called Galagidae, also known as galagos. These cute creatures are found in countries like Cameroon, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo.
Gabon bushbabies are quite small. Their head and body are about 8.5 inches (21.5 cm) long, and their tail adds another 10 inches (25 cm)! They weigh around 10 ounces (280 grams), which is about the same as a can of soda. They love living in warm, wet tropical rainforests. Their main diet is fallen fruit, but they also enjoy munching on small arthropods like insects.
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Where Gabon Bushbabies Live
The Gabon bushbaby calls the tropical western part of Central Africa its home. You can find these animals in a wide area. Their territory stretches from the Sanaga River in Cameroon, across the Congo Republic and Río Muni in Equatorial Guinea, all the way to Gabon. In Gabon, they live between the Sanaga River and the Ogooué River. Scientists are still trying to figure out if they live south of the Ogooué River too.
Their Forest Home
These bushbabies prefer to live in thick, humid forests. They spend their time in the lower parts of the forest canopy. This means they hang out among the vines (called lianas) and tree trunks. They are pretty good at adapting! They can even live in forests that have been partly cut down or are growing back after being cleared.
Gabon Bushbaby Life and Habits
Gabon bushbabies move around a lot in the forest. Male bushbabies have a large home range, covering about 30 to 60 hectares (74 to 148 acres). Female bushbabies have smaller territories, usually around 8 to 10 hectares (20 to 25 acres).
What They Eat
These bushbabies search for their food on the forest floor. They look for small invertebrates, like insects, and delicious fruits that have fallen from trees.
Family Life and Predators
When Gabon bushbabies are born, there's usually an equal number of males and females. However, among adult bushbabies, there are often four females for every male. This might be because male bushbabies travel further. Traveling more means they are at a higher risk of being caught by predators.
Animals that like to eat Gabon bushbabies include large snakes. Other predators are the African palm civet (Nandinia binotata), which is a cat-like animal, and the African linsang (Poiana richardsonii). Big owls are also known to hunt them.
Conservation Status
The Gabon bushbaby has a fairly wide range across Central Africa. It is also a common species, meaning there are many of them.
Threats and Protection
There aren't many big threats to the Gabon bushbaby right now. Some forests are cut down for wood or to make space for farms. However, these activities don't seem to be a major problem for the bushbaby's overall population.
Good news! This bushbaby lives in several protected areas. Because of its wide range, common numbers, and presence in protected zones, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has given it a conservation status of "least concern". This means scientists are not worried about it becoming endangered anytime soon.
 | James Van Der Zee |
 | Alma Thomas |
 | Ellis Wilson |
 | Margaret Taylor-Burroughs |
