The family Lorisidae includes a group of small, nocturnal primates. Distinguished from monkeys and apes by their hairy faces and moist snouts, they have a well-developed sense of smell. The family is split into two sub-families: Galaginae – bush babies (galagos) – and Lorisinae – pottos and lorises. Bush babies are long-tailed jumpers – the Senegal bush baby can cover up to seven metres in a leap.

Six species range in size from the 60g dwarf bush infant towards the 1.2kg thicktailed bush infant. They’re cute-looking African primates that feed mostly on insects, fruit and gums. Moving swiftly through the foliage, they pick up insect movements with their big twitchy ears and grab them. They sometimes catch flying insects by clamping their back feet on a branch and lunging forwards to grab the victim. Bush babies have a complex social structure.

A female and her offspring occupy a territory while males compete fiercely for their own territories. Dominant male mates with the females in one or more groups, young males roam before trying to oust an established male. Bush babies communicate by calling out at night, and they mark territory with urine, within the same way as lorises. Pottos and lorises have really short tails and are slow climbers. Two species – potto and agwantibo – are discovered in Africa, while the slender and slow lorises are Asian species. They travel cautiously through the branches, holding branches in their vice-like grip and freezing at any unusual sound.

They keep to the thickest vegetation where they are well hidden by their cryptic mode of movement. Pottos and lorises tend to sniff out slow-moving prey – it’s often hairy and smelly, too – for example nasty beetles, caterpillars, ants and butterflies. To defend itself, the agwantibo rolls up in a ball with its short tail sticking out. When the attacker inspects the tail, the agwantibo delivers a crafty bite under its arm.