The Bioko greater bushbaby is a type of galago, a group of small night-time primates related to lemurs. It weighs only about 150 to 200 grams — less than a can of fizzy drink — but can leap over 2 metres in a single jump. Its enormously large eyes are packed with light-sensitive cells that let it see clearly in the darkest forest, collecting every tiny glimmer of moonlight.
Unlike our eyes, a bushbaby's eyes cannot move in their sockets — they are fixed in place. Instead, the bushbaby rotates its whole head, owl-style, to look in different directions. It can turn its head almost 180 degrees. It also has very large bat-like ears that can move independently, helping it locate insects and other small creatures by sound in complete darkness.
Bushbabies are expert hunters of insects at night. They creep silently along branches, then snatch a moth or beetle out of the air with lightning-fast hands. They also eat fruit, tree gum (which they gouge from bark with their teeth), and sometimes small lizards. Bushbabies are largely solitary but communicate with each other through calls and scent markings on branches.
Because it is only found on Bioko Island, the Bioko greater bushbaby is particularly special to protect. Scientists regularly survey the island's forest at night using torches to count the glowing eyes in the trees — a counting method called 'night transect surveys'. Every pair of eyes represents a bushbaby going about its busy nocturnal life.