You may be forgiven for believing that a new animal species would only be discovered in heavy rainforests, or thousands of leagues under the sea, but this year, a new creature reared its head in a leafy South London suburb. The Common Bush Boy (Aloofus Jandus), is thought to be critically endangered, with only 6 of these small critters counted so far. Here, we break down what we know about the Bush Boy.
Description
The Bush Boy is between 2-3 inches in size, covered in a fur like fabric that appears to be carefully crafted before being applied to a nude skin beneath. In addition, the Bush Boy has equipped themselves with foot coverings that mimic human footwear. This would indicate that The Bush Boy is an incredibly clever creature who has been watching humans and perhaps even using fabric waste to craft their distinctive camouflage. It is not clear how they could create and apply this camouflage, with no Bush Boy yet discovered to have arms.
Arguably their most notable feature is the large eyes that penetrate from beneath their fur. Similar to the Slow Loris, it is believed that the Bush Boy is most likely to be a nocturnal creature, although having spotted them in daylight hours, it's entirely plausible that their large eyes are left over from a previous evolutionary stage.
Social Habits & Behaviour
The Aloofus Jandus has been spotted both in groups and individually. We believe that the Bush Boys are independent animals, who spend the majority of time on their own, meeting only when necessary, although we have yet to understand any logical reason they may do so. Their relationship to each other has been observed to be completely platonic, perhaps indicating that they are asexual. The lack of obvious comparison between the discovered creatures would further suggest they are not related in any sense.
Diet
Little is known about the dietary habits of the Bush Boy. Photographs taken have observed a Bush Boy interested in some berries, suggesting that Bush Boys are foragers, rather than hunters. Indeed, having only been spotted in areas of woodland, this would indicate a preference to either very small insects, bark, or tree sap. They are largely motionless, staying in single areas for large periods of time, waiting for their meals to come to them, rather than find their meals.
Predation
Given the recent nature of their discovery, it is not yet clear where the Bush Boy sits on the food chain. It is likely that given the low numbers of their species, as well as their docile behaviour that the Bush Boy has been hunted by bigger woodland animals throughout their existence. With that in mind, the Bush Boy has demonstrated through the construction of footwear and camouflage to be an incredibly clever creature, using evasion as it's main tactic to avoid predators.
The Yo-Janda x Aloof Studio Bush Boys collection will be available soon. Each of the six figures are handmade using fabric samples sourced from British mills such as Harris Tweed and Halley Stevenson's. Follow Aloof Studio here, and Yo-Janda here, to stay in touch with the latest news on the release.
