Here’s your daily dose of cute: this little Moholi bushbaby is the newest member of the primate family at Lincoln Park Zoo. The zoo was gracious enough to share a few photos of the tiny creature, who was only 0.3 ounces when it was born mid-January.
Moholi bushbabies are native to Southern Africa and rarely found in zoos. In fact, fewer than 20 bushbabies are found in zoos across the United States.
“This birth is significant, both because the zoo population is so small and because it means our breeding pair here at Lincoln Park Zoo is a good match,” said Curator of the Regenstein Small Mammal-Reptile House Diane Mulkerin.
Although the animal care staff at the zoo doesn’t know the sex of the baby yet, it is growing quickly and is in good health. In just the past month, it has quadrupled in size.
Moholi bushbabies spend most of their day sleeping, since they can hide from predators during the night. Like others in the primate family, they are very acrobatic and you’ll find them springing from branch to branch within their habitat.
And while those large ears and eyes sure make them adorable, those larger features serve a more important purpose: they help protect them from predators with better hearing and sight.
Lincoln Park Zoo’s Moholi bushbaby family is on exhibit daily at the Regenstein Small Mammal-Reptile House from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
