Bioacoustics of Galago moholi

Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Southern Lesser Galago usually lives in small family groups of 2-7, typically an adult pair with or without young, two adult females plus infants, or an adult female with young. Such groups spend the day sleeping at the same site, but adults split up at night to forage alone. They sleep alone or in small groups of up to eight animals at heights of 1-13 m in selfconstructed nests of acacia twigs lined with leaves, tree holes, unused bird nests, dense foliage, or on branches and forks in trees. Acacia and mopane ( Colophospermum mopane, Fabaceae ) trees often have hollowed-out trunks that are used for nesting and breeding sites. Individuals have a midnight rest period and make use of two or three favorite sleeping sites during the day. In South Africa, during the coldest nights of mid-winter (minimum —5°C), individuals may return to huddle at a sleeping site up to seven hours before sunrise, and at these times they are frequently active during the day. In particularly cold weather, the Southern Lesser Galago nest in more sunny locations and are more likely to share nests. They have matriarchies. Dominant males are larger, are more vocal, and have an odor; subordinate males are smaller, are quiet, and lack an odor. Adult males are territorial and may fight viciously for control of a home range (1-5-22-9 ha) that overlaps the ranges of up to five females (4:4-11-7 ha). They spend up to 30% of the night within 50 m of conspecifics, and communication at a distance is maintained through sound and scent. Home ranges of adult males can double in size during the mating season as they seek estrous females over a wide area using scent and calls. Loud calls are made by both sexes, lending to a rich vocal repertoire of 19 calls, both continuous and discrete, as well as two infant-specific calls. Vocalizations include loud-calls made irrespective of the mating season: barks, whistles, and yaps. Infants make click and “crackle” (like paper crackling) vocalizations.

Breeding. Social organization of the Southern Lesser Galago is multimale-multifemale. The male approaches an estrous female with a low-clucking vocalization and, while mounting, makes a loud call that ends in a whistle. Usually two (sometimes just one) offspring are born in October-November orJanuary-February, after gestation of 130 days. Infants weigh c.12 g. Twins can be fathered by two different males. A mother carries the young in her mouth for the first couple of months. Infants leave the nest for the first time at ten days and are weaned at eleven weeks. Females have a postpartum estrus. Weaning takes place at 70-100 days. Females reach maturity at ¢.200 days and males at ¢.326 days. Adult females are philopatric; subadult males disperse into new areas. Juvenile mortality rates in the wild have been estimated at 55%. One individual lived for ten years and five months in the London Zoo, but they have been known to live up to 14 years.