The southern lesser galago is a social animal and has been known to spend several hours grooming and playing in groups of two or three. It sleeps in a group during the day, but disperses to forage alone at night (6), moving swiftly through the trees by running, walking or leaping from branch to branch. The southern lesser galago can cover up to five metres in a single bound, and can switch between moving quadrupedally, using four legs, and bipedally, using two legs (4).
The diet of the southern lesser galago consists of insects such as grasshoppers, termites and beetles, as well as gum from inside Acacia stems (7). It has a specialised digestive system which ferments Acacia gum to extract the nutrients (8). The southern lesser galago relies on Acacia gum as a year-round food supply, especially during winter when insect numbers decline (9). Instead of drinking from water sources, the southern lesser galago obtains water from its food (8).
The average gestation period for the southern lesser galago is 129 days (10), and the female gives birth to twins once or twice a year (1). Young are born between January and February and from September to November, in a leaf-lined nest prepared by the female or in a tree hollow (4) (11). Half an hour after birth, the young southern lesser galago is able to crawl around the nest, and at around four weeks of age it starts catching its own food, although it is still dependent on the female (4).
The female changes the location of the nest site every 10 to 14 days, which is thought to be an anti-predator strategy. The southern lesser galago may be preyed upon by domestic cats, genets and jackals (12) (13).