Social Behavior
A lesser bushbaby male "urine washes" which will leave a scent trail as he moves through the forest. Click image for larger version.
The lesser bushbaby lives in small family groups of two to seven individuals. These groups may consist of an adult pair with or without young, two adult females plus infants or an adult female with young. Such groups spend the day sleeping together at the same site, but split up at night to forage. Males may fight aggressively to defend a home range which overlaps the range of one to five females. Males will emit a territorial advertisement call, which might be answered by neighboring animals, resulting in back and forth calling for up to an hour. Other vocalizations consist of a clicking sound by which the young call their mothers, and a louder version of the same call which adults use in assembling at their sleeping site as well as a high pitched alarm call. Lesser bushbabies will spend most of the night foraging alone and usually reassemble in small groups at dawn before sleeping in a nest or similar retreat, such as a vine tangle or a hollowed-out tree. It appears as if males migrate from their natal group when they are about one year old, while females have a tendency to stay around longer. Dominant males are noticeably larger than submissive males and are much more active scent markers.