climb to the treetops where they live, and the birds of prey in this part of Africa are diurnal. Pottos living near villages face some predation from humans, who hunt them as bushmeat; the West African potto is thought to be threatened due to this. They are sometimes preyed upon by African palm civets, although African palm civets are largely frugivorous. If threatened, the potto will hide its face and neck-butt its opponent, making use of its unusual vertebrae. It can also deliver a powerful bite. Its saliva contains compounds that cause the wound to become inflamed. The highest recorded life span for a potto in captivity is 26 years. Cognition and social behaviour In a study of strepsirrhine cognition conducted in 1964, pottos were seen to explore and manipulate unfamiliar objects, but only when those objects were baited with food. They were found to be more curious than lorises and lesser bushbabies, but less so than lemurs. Ursula Cowgill, a biologist at Yale University who looked after six captive pottos for several decades, noticed they appeared to form altruistic relationships. The captive pottos were seen to spend time with a sick companion and to save food for an absent one. However, there is no confirmation this behaviour occurs in the wild. References External links Lorises and galagos Primates of Africa