Galago senegalensis
Silhouette: Kai Caspar · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The Senegal bushbaby (Galago senegalensis), also known as the Senegal galago, the lesser galago or the lesser bush baby, is a small, nocturnal primate, a member of the galago family Galagidae. The name "bush baby" may come either from the animals' cries or from their appearance. They are agile leapers, and run swiftly along branches. They live in Africa south of the Sahara and nearby islands, including Zanzibar. They tend to live in dry woodland regions and savannah regions. They are small primates (130 mm and 95–300 grams) with woolly thick fur that ranges from silvery grey to dark brown. They have large eyes, giving them good night vision; strong hind limbs; and long tails, which help them balance. Their ears are made up of four segments that can bend back individually, to aid their hearing when hunting insects at night. Their omnivorous diet is a mixture of other small animals, including birds and insects, fruit, seeds, flowers, eggs, nuts, and tree gums.
Bushbabies reproduce twice a year, at the beginning of the rains (November) and the end (February). They are polygynous, and the females raise their young in nests made from leaves. They have 1–2 babies per litter, with gestation period being 110–120 days. Bush babies are born with half-closed eyes, unable to move about independently. After a few days, the mother carries the infant in her mouth, and leaves it on convenient branches while feeding.
Adult females maintain territories, but share them with their offspring. Males leave their mothers' territories after puberty, but females remain, forming social groups consisting of closely related females and their immature young. Adult males maintain separate territories, which overlap with those of the female social groups; generally, one adult male mates with all the females in an area. Males who have not established such territories sometimes form small bachelor groups.
Bush babies communicate both by calling to each other and by marking their paths with their urine. At the end of the night, group members use a special rallying call and gather to sleep in a nest made of leaves, in a group of branches, or in a hole in a tree. Wikipedia →
Recording0:41
Kenya · 2025
© Yvonne A. de Jong · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Masai Mara National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 2 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prague Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 2 | Dvůr Králové Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 3 | Zoo Pilsen | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 4 | Berlin Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 5 | Dierenpark Hoenderdaell | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 6 | Chiba Zoological Park | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 7 | Krakow Zoo | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 8 | Faunia | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 9 | Tennōji Zoo | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 10 | Ueno Zoological Gardens (West Garden) | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 11 | Randers Tropical Zoo | 🇩🇰 Denmark | |
| 12 | Aquarium Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 13 | Rákosův pavilon | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 14 | Velemlokárium | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 15 | Landgoed Hoenderdaell | 🇳🇱 Netherlands |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Lesser Galago sighting in Serengeti National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 40th most-seen of the 41 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Lesser Galago in Serengeti National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–February, May–August and November, the lowest months. That is one of Serengeti National Park's wettest months, with about 140 mm of rain against 5 mm in July.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Northern Lesser Galago sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
Among the best
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Northern Lesser Galago sightings, Serengeti National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Masai Mara National Reserve (Kenya, about 10%).
Same order: Primates
The closest relatives of the Northern Lesser Galago that you can see in Serengeti National Park (order Primates) are Olive Baboon (about 40%) and Vervet Monkey (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Northern Lesser Galago is recorded against all the mammals logged in Serengeti National Park (6 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
