Galago: Magwai from the movie "Gremlins" in real life. Tiny primates that are impossible to find (9 photos)

Do you see the galagos? Me neither. And he is! And in large, simply huge, quantities. True, in Africa. On the dark continent it is the most numerous primate. Which you can’t find with fire during the day.





If the animal did not have a black belt in the game of hide and seek, it is unlikely that it would have been able to reproduce to such a scale. Galago is too charming for the brutal continent. They look like the Mogwai from the movie “Gremlins”: fluffy, bug-eyed creatures with big ears. This cutie weighs no more than a kilogram.



Nadya has 10 differences.

Like the fictional Mogwai, galagos have a peculiar relationship with liquid. If the first ones couldn’t be soaked in principle, then our furry friends will soak everything, or rather, wet themselves. Urine therapy is the basis of the ideology of small primates. They irrigate themselves and their ladies with liquid waste from the body.





Galago liquid is used to mark females and territory. Urine has a strong smell, and when animals wash their paws in it, they automatically mark everything they touch with their signature scent.



At the same time, galagos are extremely clean! They have a grooming claw on their front paws. It replaces a comb for primates and helps care for their fur. And under your tongue is your own toothbrush! A cartilage comb helps remove all the dirt from your teeth that clings to it during lunch.



Like gremlins, galagos become active only after midnight. They have something to do: they walk, eat, mark their territory, vigorously sort things out with their neighbors and invite the ladies for a cup of cake. This crowd feeds on what Africa has in abundance: insects, including poisonous ones, and gum. The latter is the thickened juice of vines and acacias. Like amber, only edible.



While the sun is shining, our furry friends are sleeping peacefully, huddled somewhere in a hollow tree. And for good reason: our primate relatives are thirsty for the blood of the cute bug-eyed creatures! First, chimpanzees actively hunt galagos for meat. Secondly, people cut down forests, catch fluffy animals for sale and shoot babies for the sake of the local cuisine and fashion industry.



Despite the widespread assault on life and limb, our furry friends are still the most numerous primates in Africa. Their population growth is significantly higher than their population decline. Depending on the species, they have cubs up to twice a year.



Due to the similarity of galagos with the well-known inhabitants of Madagascar, some call them African lemurs.

Monogamy is not held in high esteem among galagos—promiscuity flourishes and smells. Children up to four years old learn the science of life under the strict guidance of their mothers in about six months. The function of single fathers is limited to distributing seeds from which the flowers of life will grow. Considering that galagos become sexually mature at 10 months and live up to 20 years, you probably don’t have to worry about them.



Animals live even longer in captivity, as pets.

What does this story teach us? Family connections are an interesting and important thing. However, if you are such a sweet pie, then even your relatives will try to eat you.