AYE-AYE (Daubentonia Madagascariensis)

Image by kind permission of Nick Garbutt from The Mammals of Madagascar (Pica Press) www.nickgarbutt.com		These amazing looking creatures are very distinctive looking, with very large ears, bushy tails and long, thin middle fingers. Males and females are of similar appearance. The Aye-aye is nocturnal, sleeping in nests of twigs and dead leaves during the day and foraging for nuts, nectar, fungus, grubs and fruit at night. One use of the the strange middle finger is to extract grubs from bark after finding cavities by tapping the wood with the finger. As they are largely solitary, female Aye-ayes let males know when they are in season by emitting distinctive calls. Any males that respond will fight over the female. A single baby is born after about 6 months. Due to their bizarre appearance the Aye-aye are often considered bad luck and killed, but in some areas they are believed to be the spirits of ancestors and bringers of good luck.
AVERAGE MEASUREMENTS LENGTH Head and body 34cm   Tail 50cm  •  WEIGHT 2.5kg

Back