Central Potto

activity

Activity patterns. Milne-Edwards’s Potto is nocturnal and arboreal. It is an agile climber and does not move as slowly as one might think. When followed using radio-tracking in Cameroon, male pottos traveled an average of 2811 m / night (1330 - 6440 m / night), and females traveled an average of 707 m / night (951 - 3290 m / night). Anti-predator strategies are as described for the other taxa.

Lorisidae

biology_ecology

Habitat. Swamp, lowland, mid-altitude, and montane rainforests up to 1500 m above sea level. Milne-Edwards’s Potto is most frequently found 6 - 10 m above the ground in Cameroon, but in Gabon, it occurs 5 - 30 m above the ground.

Lorisidae

biology_ecology

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Milne-Edwards’s Potto is not gregarious, although it maintains complex social networks. In Gabon, they spent 4 % of the time with conspecifics and slept alone, except for mothers and infants. In Cameroon, they spent 22 % of the time with conspecifics and slept in close proximity 26 % of the time. In Cameroon, social behavior, lack of sexual dimorphism, and ranging patterns imply a dispersed unimale — unifemale social system. In Gabon, pottos exhibit a dispersed unimale — multifemale social system, where the male patrols home ranges of one to three females. Home ranges of females in Gabon average 7 - 5 ha and are about one-half the size of male ranges (17 - 8 - 40 ha). Home ranges of males and females at Mount Kupe, south-western Cameroon, are a similar size, with females averaging 31 - 5 ha and males averaging 30 - 6 ha. Home ranges of one or two females and their infants overlapped the territory of one male in Gabon, while in Cameroon a male’s range overlapped extensively the range of just one female. Young adult females remain in or near their natal home ranges. Vocal exchanges are limited, with the majority of communication made by

Lorisidae

breeding

Breeding. In some parts of their range, Milne-Edwards’s Pottos seem to have a birth peak, whereas in others, births occur year-round; variation is probably related to food abundance. Captive pottos show no seasonal estrus. The estrous cycle is 38 days. Copulations normally begin with side-by-side sniffing; a dorsal-ventral mating posture is adopted and copulation lasts 1 - 4 minutes. Parturition occurs on a branch. After a gestation of 193 - 205 days, pottos give birth to one young weighing 52 g; twins are rare. They tend to give birth again after 12 - 13 months. Infant Milne-Edwards’s Pottos are white and can have blue eyes. A mother carries her infant clinging to the ventrum until it is 3 - 4 months of age. After that time, the infant is parked among branches and lianas while the mother forages. She retrieves the infant before dawn, and both infant and mother utter high-pitched “ tisc ” contact calls. By 3 - 4 months, the young potto is constantly with its mother, either riding on her back or walkingjust behind her. Infants are weaned at 120 - 180 days. They become independent at 6 - 8 months, and full sexual maturity is reached by 18 months. Pottos, in general, can live ¢. 26 ye

Lorisidae