These solitary creatures are nocturnal, active during nighttime hours. Excellent night vision—thanks to an adaptation known as the tapetum lucidum, a thin membrane situated behind the eye’s retina that reflects light, colloquially referred to as “eye shine”—allows these prosimians to easily navigate in the darkness. (You might share your home with another creature who possesses this adaptation. That “glow” you see in your cat’s eyes as she walks stealthily through your dark backyard or living room? Eye shine. Cats, like prosimians, are endowed with night vision that is superior to that of us humans.)

Mostly arboreal, golden angwantibos spend the bulk of their time in trees. The dense underbrush and lower layers of the forest provide them with a level of safety, particularly during daylight hours while they curl up to sleep, hidden within tangles of liana vines from predators. (Mothers sleep with their infants; otherwise, golden angwantibos sleep solo.) Rarely do they climb higher than 49 ft (15 m) and are most often found perching on small branches no more than 16.4 ft (5 m) from the forest floor. Their tree height preference is strategic: at lower levels of the forest, they encounter less meal competition from birds (who are also insectivorous), and they find more insects to eat. Lower levels are also better shielded from nature’s elements. Their choice of branches to travel upon is about sensibility and physical capability. Golden angwantibos’ narrow hands and feet simply cannot grip large vertical branches. So, while traveling, these prosimians choose thin branches, less than 2.4 in (6 cm) in diameter, as they advance through dense and continuous vegetative walkways quadrupedally (on all fours), carefully placing one hand over the other. Characteristic of primates within the Lorisidae family, golden angwantibos are languid in their movements. They are not leapers.

Foraging behavior is similar to that of their Calabar cousins. With their long, narrow muzzles pointed downward, led by a strong sense of smell, these prosimians are quiet and stealthy when hunting insect prey—but react with incredible swiftness and dexterity when reaching out with their strong hands to capture unaware creatures.

Prior to devouring poisonous caterpillars, angwantibos employ a curious technique. They “massage” the crawly insect’s spine, thereby discarding toxic hair follicles. Researchers have observed this behavior in young angwantibos as well. Because these youngsters are not yet able to capture insect prey on their own, researchers posit that this prey-massage behavior may be innate in these primates.

For a more varied insect selection, or to choose a piece of fallen fruit, golden angwantibos frequently descend to the ground to forage.

Their keen sense of smell also helps angwantibos detect predators—giving them a chance to camouflage themselves in their leafy environment, whereby remaining completely still, they can escape detection. (The practice of camouflage, scientifically known as “cryptic coloration,” is a defense mechanism that animals in the wild use to disguise their appearance by blending in with their surroundings for the purpose of avoiding predators—but camouflage is also used by some animals to sneak up on prey.) To protect themselves from a predator, angwantibos assume a defensive posture: nose down, limbs rigid and extended, head tucked under body. Should a predator approach, an angwantibo raises its hindquarters and, with its head tucked securely under its armpit, issues rapid bites to the predator.

Predators of angwantibos are thought to include viverrids (small- to medium-sized carnivorous mammals, including the weasel-like civet and the cat-like genet), snakes, large birds of prey—and their greatest predator: humans.