Aye-ayes can be found only on the island of Madagascar. These rare animals are related to chimpanzees, apes, and humans. It is the largest species of nocturnal primates. They are dark brown or black and are distinguished by a bushy tail that is larger than their body, only weighing between five and six pounds. They also feature big eyes, slender fingers, and large, sensitive ears. Aye-ayes have pointed claws on all their fingers and toes except for their opposable big toes, which enable them to dangle from branches.
Aye-ayes spend their lives in rain forest trees and avoid coming down to the ground. They are nocturnal, and spend the day curled up in a ball-like nest of leaves and branches. The nests appear as closed spheres with single entry holes, situated in the forks of large trees. When moving, Aye-ayes either build new nests or take over old ones. While perched aloft, the aye-aye taps on trees with its long middle finger and listens for wood-boring insect larvae moving under the bark. It employs the same middle finger to fish them out. The digit is also useful for scooping the flesh out of coconuts and other fruits that supplement the animal's insect diet. Their eating habits tend to change with the season to accommodate what kind of food is available. These adaptations to make their feeding habits easier are what makes them very unusual looking.
Aye-ayes have no fixed breeding season. The females have distinct mating calls that they show off when they’re ready to mate, which leads many males to surround her and fight for their right to mate. A single offspring is born after a gestation period of only six months. After a female has her offspring, she will wait around three years to mate again.
Duke Lemur Center/David Haring Many people native to Madagascar consider the aye-aye an omen of bad luck. They believe that if their long, skeletal middle finger is pointed at you, you are cursed to death unless you kill the aye-aye as quickly as possible. Another myth is that these creatures sneak into villages at night and use their middle finger to stab locals in the aorta. For this reason they often have been killed on sight. Such hunting, coupled with habitat destruction, has made the aye-aye critically endangered. Today they are protected by law, but their numbers are still decreasing. The total population of the aye-aye is currently unknown, but is estimated to be between 1,000 and 10,000 individuals.
SOURCES:
http://www.edgeofexistence.org/mammals/species_info.php?id=16
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/aye-aye/
http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/aye-aye
http://www.arkive.org/aye-aye/daubentonia-madagascariensis/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Aye-aye
http://a-z-animals.com/animals/aye-aye-/
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/6302/0
http://biochemicalsoul.com/2009/02/adaptation-of-the-week-the-aye-ayes-freaky-finger-ive-been-cursed-by-an-aye-aye/
http://ayeayesproject.weebly.com/legends.html
http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/teacher_resources/best_place_species/harry_potter_top_10/aye_aye.cfm
Special thanks to photographer, David Haring, for his wonderful photos of these amazing creatures! http://lemur.duke.edu/
http://www.edgeofexistence.org/mammals/species_info.php?id=16
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/aye-aye/
http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/aye-aye
http://www.arkive.org/aye-aye/daubentonia-madagascariensis/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Aye-aye
http://a-z-animals.com/animals/aye-aye-/
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/6302/0
http://biochemicalsoul.com/2009/02/adaptation-of-the-week-the-aye-ayes-freaky-finger-ive-been-cursed-by-an-aye-aye/
http://ayeayesproject.weebly.com/legends.html
http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/teacher_resources/best_place_species/harry_potter_top_10/aye_aye.cfm
Special thanks to photographer, David Haring, for his wonderful photos of these amazing creatures! http://lemur.duke.edu/
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