The Baby that stays up all Night

Searching for Bush Babies whilst on night survey was one of my favourite moments during the forest experience. 

Greater Galago feasting

On Wednesday evening with our torch lights glaring we were all eager and excited to start our adventure. We began the evening filling out our casual observation form and then headed out into Shimoni Forest. We encountered many species such as bats and pouch rats but the best nocturnal creature in Shimoni village and forest was the Greater Galago (Bush Baby). Galagos have a very distinct and extremely cute appearance. They have huge eyes covering the majority of their face, small rounded ears and a curved, fuzzy tail that helps with their balance. Living in Kenya, I had seen many Galagos in my back garden and loved to listen to their loud call at night. Their cry is often compared to that of a child’s hence their name “bush baby”. It was fun to shine your torch up into the trees and see two inquisitive eyes gaze down at you. I was also amused when Galagos crawled up electricity posts and did live wire acts along the lines just outside the Shimoni base. 

Caught in a balancing act

The highlight of the walk was seeing a baby Galago and mother behind the slave caves of Shimoni. The baby was absolutely adorable and made little clicking noises to warn us off as we trekked between the trees. 

The ability to study nocturnal animals in this way was a great opportunity. 

Robyn Geddes – Forest Volunteer

The Baby that stays up all Night