Mammals · Primates · Lorisidae

West African Potto

Perodicticus potto

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The potto is a nocturnal primate of equatorial Africa, the African relative of the Asian lorises. It moves with deliberate slowness and an extraordinarily firm grip, going hand over hand and never letting go with all four limbs at once. It eats fruit, tree gums and insects, including some foul-smelling ones that other animals reject. It is solitary and territorial, and its discretion means it is far commoner than sightings would suggest.

Weight

600 g – 1.6 kg

Size

30 cm – 40 cm

Lifespan

26 years

Diet

Omnivore

Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.

Activity

Nocturnal

Active mainly at night.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

RainforestOmnivore Nocturnal Solitary Rainforest Mammal

22countries 16parks3same family

Fun facts

GeneralIt moves very slowly and by night; the vertebrae of its neck form defensive shields.
It has a defensive shield on the nape: its neck vertebrae carry elongated processes covered in thick skin that it can use to butt a predator head first from a branch.
Its strategy in the face of danger is not to flee but to freeze: it grips the branch so hard that a human being needs both hands to prise it off, and it can stay motionless for hours.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
Habitat & environment: Canopy and middle storey of rainforest and gallery forest of equatorial Africa
Sexual maturity: 18 months
Gestation / incubation: 5.6 months
Litter / clutch size: 1

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perodicticus_potto