No, this isn’t the start of a horror movie, it’s the start of a bush baby—also known as galago—sighting! And if you’ve never seen one, a single glance will probably convince you the only danger from these tiny animals is viral…videos.

The eyes may be big, but bush babies are tiny (and adorable). Many of our safari guests see or hear them during their stay at Gibb’s Farm.
Photo: Joachim S. Müller

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About the size of a squirrel, these nocturnal creatures leap through the air from branch to branch, often covering distances of over 10 yards in just seconds. Urine marking on the way means that, especially near their nests, they often leap through the exact same series of branches every time (and you thought humans had a lock on OCD).

Though they’re often lumped in with primates, “proto-primate” would be more accurate; along with lemurs, tarsiers, and lorises, bushbabies are considered “prosimians.” Less intelligent than simian species, and lacking some of the most recognizable morphologies of their distant cousins (for example, large brains), prosimians share their own unique set of features, including good low-light vision, “toilet claws” for grooming, and giving birth to litters.

So why “babies?” Is it because looking at one, your first impulse is to nestle it in your arms and coo?

Well, maybe, but more likely the colloquial name for galagos comes from their cries, which sound distinctly (you guessed it) baby-like. Have a listen:

Sounds like that echoing through the pitch-dark woods on an African night without such a good explanation, though? DEFINITELY the start of a good horror movie!

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Audio: World Wildlife Fund

Laying in bed at the end of a long day in the bush, you hear a distinctive high-pitched giggling sound, a hee-hee-hee on helium.

Even without your guide at hand, you know this one: it’s a hyena.

The hyena’s “laugh” is a well-known sound in the bush

But what’s that strange, whooping call, like an animal with a slide-whistle lodged in its throat? Or the eerie, low-pitched “oooh” that sounds something like a recording of a space alien being played back at 1/10^th the speed? Or the rapid, high-pitched staccato screeching? Didn’t the guide say there were no chimpanzee near this campsite?

Believe it or not, all those strange sounds come from hyena, too. From rumbling bass growls to strange, shrieking squeals, hyena use a wide range of vocalizations to communicate with one another and with other predators.

Whooping is probably the best-known hyena vocalization after giggling 

The vocalizations are just one indicator of the hyena’s extreme intelligence. Often dismissed as carrion-eaters, hyena are actually primarily cooperative hunters, living in hierarchical clans with complex social structures that dictate their day-to-day lives.

Each of these calls (scientists have identified as many as 14) communicates specific information to the rest of the clan. Though we may hear it as laughter, the hyena’s giggle sound actually means it’s being attacked or chased, generally in a dispute over a kill. Groans are part of the greeting ceremony, but grunts are a warning to an unwelcome hyena to hightail it, fast. And while some whoops mean the clan is gearing up for a fight, others mean nothing at all, the hyena equivalent of singing in the shower!

Not only do they talk to each other, hyena lie to each other. Scientists have observed hyena using distress calls when no enemies are present (but when food they’d rather not share is), a behavior both cunning and effective.

The hyena’s strange groaning sound communicates to its clan

Some scientists even posit that hyena are as smart or smarter than primates; in a cooperative problem-solving study, hyena handily outperformed chimpanzee (humans’ closest living relatives in the animal kingdom).

Whether or not they’re the smartest animal you’ll encounter on your safari is debatable, but one thing is certain: they’re definitely one of the loudest.

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Can you understand what these hyena are trying to say? Check out more calls here:

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Audio clips from acoustics.org