#primatefacts

Macaques are a "political" society, with a complex network of relationships. By carefully cultivating relationships and relying on them when necessary, an individual is able to influence the interactions with others, and make his/her life in the group manageable if not smooth. This is very necessary in macaques, who are bad tempered compared with other non-human primates (prosimians, monkeys and apes).

The gray slender loris is a tree-dwelling species that moves along branches on all fours, and stretches between thin end branches in order to reach a neighbouring tree. Its tiny hands enable this loris to grip the smallest of branches, and a special network of blood vessels in the wrists and ankles allow it to grip tightly for a few days without suffering any muscle cramp.

While sympatric with slow lorises in part of its range, pygmy slow lorises are confined to a somewhat smaller geographical area. They are found in the countries of Vietnam, Laos, and the province of Yunnan in China. Where they do occur, members of this species are usually found in thick foliage deep in tropical rainforests. They are also sometimes found in bamboo groves.

Agile gibbons rarely come down from the treetops in the southeast Asian rainforests they inhabit. It's often easy to spot these gibbons as both sexes have striking white eyebrows that stand out against their dark fur, but it is only the males that have the characteristic white cheek pouches. Once mated, agile gibbons stay together for life and form a family group with their offspring. They sing in the early morning as a way of establishing and defending their territory.

More often heard than seen, the sooty mangabey has a rather broad vocal repertoire, including grunts and twitters which are frequently heard when foraging or during social interactions, and screams and growls given during aggressive and defensive situations.

Mouse lemurs are forest dwellers that live in female-dominated groups of up to 15 animals. They spend most of their time in trees, and can move nimbly from branch to branch and tree to tree. Mouse lemurs sleep aloft during the day and forage at night for insects, fruit, flowers, and other plants.

Sakis are very vocal with a variety of chirps, high-pitched whistling and a loud call used for territorial spacing. When threatened, white-faced sakis display by shaking tree limbs with their whole bodies, puffing themselves up so that they look bigger, and emitting a growling sound.

In a series of leaps, a bush baby can easily cover 10 yards in seconds. The tail (longer than the length of the head and body) powers the leaps made to catch prey, escape from enemies, or get around obstacles. The bush baby's other methods of locomotion are kangaroo-like hops or simply walking or running on four legs. They frequently mark their routes with urine. By following their own scent, they can jump onto exactly the same branches each time when they go to or from their nest. Males also urine-mark the boundaries of their territories and will sometimes become aggressive toward intruders.