SANParks.org Forums

Thick-tailed Bushbaby
(Otolemur crassicaudatus)

Ger: Riesengalago
Fre: Galago a queue epaisse
Afr: Bosnagaap
Xho, Zul: Sinkwe

Mass: 0,9-1,6 kg.
Tail length: 36-45 cm.
ID Pointers:
- Dark rings around eyes.
- Bushy tail, longer than body.
- Moves on 4 legs, instead of hopping.
- Eyes shine red in torchlight.
Lifespan: +/- 4 yrs.
Predators:
1. Civet
2. Genets
3. Large Owls
4. Serval
5. African Wild Cat
6. Snakes
7. Leopard
8. Caracal
9. Chacma Baboon
10. Eagles
Scent glands: Chest, lips, cheeks, perenial.
Senses: Very good.

DISTRIBUTION IN KNP:
Found very sparsely. Punda Maria/ Pafuri areas, Satara/ Lower Sabie areas & the Berg-en-dal/ Pretoriuskop/ Skukuza areas.

BEHAVIOUR:
Nocturnal, arboreal, sleeps in groups of 6-7. Territories are from 0,07-0,2 km2. Both sexes are territorial. Love grooming themselves & urine washing. Sleep in broad-leaved & birds' nests, tree forks & hollow trees.
Calls: Squeaks, clicks, croaks, barks, shrill whistles, chirps, chatters, yaps, yells, moans & mournful screaming.

REPRODUCTION:
2-3 Infants of 45g each are born after a gestation of 4-5 months. Breed in summer.

FOOD:
Fruits, flowers, insects, seeds, gum, small birds, lizards & eggs. Water independant.

HABITAT:
Dense forest, bushveld & woodland savanna.

Sources:
- Field Guide to the mammals of the Kruger National Park by Heike Schutze.
- Field Guide to the larger mammals of Africa by Chris & Tilde Swart.

Found in the following SANParks:
- Kruger National Park.

One of these Thick Tailed Bush Babies was a welcome visitor to our tent in Skukuza in the early 90's. He/She helped themselves to fruit and bread. It was a beautiful sight though. Saw it a few eveings in the trees above our tent for a few minutes each evening. Sadly though, never saw one since....

You really lucky to see one as they are very rare. Well Done!

I must admit, I really enjoyed watching him/her, strangely though, as quickly as it appeared each evening, just as suddenly it disappeared as if it vanished in the trees! Remarkably fast movers in the trees.

Saw onne doing some "rope walking" on the telephone cable @ Lower Sabie in October.

I have never been lucky enough to see one. I am however not giving up, will continue my quest in Dec again!

Ditto!!!

Ha- i saw that one too! I thank W@H spotted the sneaky fella!
Was my first ever sighting of one!

We had one visit our caravan as well on a regular basis in Feb 2004.

Two of them raided my fridge, also in Skukuza, June 2005. Just got back to the chalet as they were running off.

July 2008 - saw one in Punda Maria at night - not scared of humans - eating crumbs from the dinner table after the evening braai. Came very close to us... 2 - 3 meters - captured it on video.

We also had one “cleaning” our dishes at our safari tent in Punda during a visit in October last year.
The only other sighting I had of one before, was at Olifants (river view bungalow #9)….it suddenly just came and sat on the wall around our veranda while we were eating….stared at us a few seconds, and was gone again.

Hey worked at MM in Sabi Sands - if anyones interested seen a group of 5 there at one of the camps and a couple at another camp! Seem to be doing well there!

I had to take a fledgeling into "Free Me" rehabillitation a couple of days ago. They gave me their quarterly publication to take home with me. In it was a tragic story highlighting the plight of bushbabies at the moment.

It seems as though they are often sold by hawkers, particularly in Mozambique. They are very endearing and very, very cute and well meaning tourists buy them in order to "rescue" them.

As a result of disease, wrong diet, inadequate care, any of these little creatures land at the "Free Me" centre, sometimes when it's too late.

"Free Me" urges people to bring these little creatures in immediately. They are difficult to raise and many of the hawkers are selling young babies that need very specialised care.

We saw a number of Thicktailed Bushbabies (Otolemur crassicaudatus) around the Pafuri area over the weekend and specifically in the Pafuri Camp.

This one though we saw, quite unusually, in broad daylight as it was having a face off with a 2.5m Black Mamba.