Peekaboo! Photo: Lincoln Park Zoo

A new arrival at the Lincoln Park Zoo is finally making an appearance.

The baby Moholi bushbaby was born in January and has been hiding out in its den ever since. Unlike other primates like chimpanzees, bushbabies don’t carry their young around after they’re born. Instead, the young mature more like birds, being left behind in a safe place while the parents go and forage until one day the baby is strong enough to leave. Then it learns to navigate the trees by following mom, dad or other adults in their family group.

After the bushbaby learns to find fruits and insects for nourishment, it must learn to protect the homestead; bushbaby families are small and territorial in their native southern Africa.

As for now, the bouncing baby bushbaby is just exploring its habitat at the zoo’s Regenstein Small Mammal–Reptile House. Young bushbabies learn social norms by engaging in play with other juveniles, so hopefully the new bushbaby will meet some new friends around the sandbox soon.