Aye-aye
Superstition and the Aye-aye - World's Largest
Nocturnal Primate
They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder and
unfortunately for this creature, his appearance has given him a bad name.
The superstitious believe that the Aye-aye can cast evil curses with its middle
finger - but, the strange nocturnal primate from Madagascar
It's part of a breeding program at Bristol
The Aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) is a lemur, a strepsirrhine primate
native to Madagascar
From an ecological point of view the Aye-aye fills the niche of a woodpecker as
it is capable of penetrating wood to extract the invertebrates within.
It is the world's largest nocturnal primate, and is characterized by its
unusual method of finding food; it taps on trees to find grubs, then gnaws
holes in the wood and inserts its elongated middle finger to pull the grubs
out.
The only other animal species known to find food in this way is the Striped
Possum.
The Aye-aye commonly eats nuts, grubs, fruits, nectar, seeds, and fungi,
classifying it as an omnivore. It often picks fruit off trees as it moves
through the canopy, often barely stopping to do so.
An Aye-aye not lucky enough to live in its natural habitat will often steal
coconuts, mangoes, sugar cane, lychees and eggs from villages and plantations.
Aye-ayes tap on the trunks and branches of the trees they visit up to 8 times
per second and listen to the echo produced to find hollow chambers inside.
Once a chamber is found they chew a hole into the wood and get grubs out of
that hole with their narrow and bony middle fingers.
The Aye-aye is the only extant member of the genus Daubentonia and family
Daubentoniidae (although it is currently classified as Near Threatened by the
IUCN); a second species, Daubentonia robusta, appears to have become extinct at
some point within the last 1000 years.
The original meaning of the name Aye-aye has been lost, as the originating
language is extinct.
There is a hypothesis that the word "aye aye" signifies simply a cry
of alarm to alert others to the presence of this animal, which many Malagasy
consider an ill omen.
With D. robusta's extermination, the D. madagascariensis Aye-aye was thought to
be extinct. However, it was later
rediscovered in 1961. Six individuals were transported to Nosy Mangabe, an
island near Maroantsetra in eastern Madagascar
Recent research shows that the Aye-aye is more widespread than was previously
thought, but is still near threatened.
The Aye-aye
They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder,
and unfortunately for this creature, his appearance has given him a bad name.
The superstitious believe that the Aye Aye can cast evil curses with its middle
finger - but, the strange nocturnal primate from Madagascar Bristol
There are several Aye-ayes kept in zoos. The largest
collection of Aye-ayes and the most successful breeding program with a current
population of 22 individuals is at the Duke Lemur Center Duke University Durham , North
Carolina , US US
The Aye-aye is a near threatened species not only because its habitat is being
destroyed, but also due to native superstition.
Besides being a general nuisance in villages, ancient Malagasy legend said that
the Aye-aye was a symbol of
death. It is viewed as a good omen in some areas, however, but these areas are
a minority.
Researchers in Madagascar
Therefore, it is no wonder that displaced animals often raid coconut plantations
or steal food in villages. It is not unlike the Common Raccoon in this regard.
The Aye-aye is often viewed as a harbinger of
evil and killed on sight.
However, public contempt goes beyond this. The
Aye-aye is often viewed as a harbinger of evil and killed on sight.
Others believe that should one point its long middle finger
at you, you were condemned to death.
Some say the appearance of an Aye-aye in a village predicts
the death of a villager, and the only way to prevent this is to kill the
Aye-aye.
The Sakalava people go so far as to claim Aye-ayes sneak into
houses through the thatched roofs and murder the sleeping occupants by using
their middle finger to puncture the victim's aorta.
Incidents of Aye-aye killings increase every year as its
forest habitats are destroyed and it is forced to raid plantations and
villages. Because of the superstition surrounding it, this often ends in death.
On the other hand, the superstition can prevent people from hunting them for
food.
They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder and
unfortunately for this creature, his appearance has given him a bad name.
The superstitious believe that the Aye-aye can cast evil curses with its middle
finger - but, the strange nocturnal primate from Madagascar
It's part of a breeding program at Bristol
The Aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) is a lemur, a strepsirrhine primate
native to Madagascar
From an ecological point of view the Aye-aye fills the niche of a woodpecker as
it is capable of penetrating wood to extract the invertebrates within.
It is the world's largest nocturnal primate, and is characterized by its
unusual method of finding food; it taps on trees to find grubs, then gnaws
holes in the wood and inserts its elongated middle finger to pull the grubs
out.
The only other animal species known to find food in this way is the Striped
Possum.
The Aye-aye commonly eats nuts, grubs, fruits, nectar, seeds, and fungi,
classifying it as an omnivore. It often picks fruit off trees as it moves
through the canopy, often barely stopping to do so.
An Aye-aye not lucky enough to live in its natural habitat will often steal
coconuts, mangoes, sugar cane, lychees and eggs from villages and plantations.
Aye-ayes tap on the trunks and branches of the trees they visit up to 8 times
per second and listen to the echo produced to find hollow chambers inside.
Once a chamber is found they chew a hole into the wood and get grubs out of
that hole with their narrow and bony middle fingers.
The Aye-aye is the only extant member of the genus Daubentonia and family
Daubentoniidae (although it is currently classified as Near Threatened by the
IUCN); a second species, Daubentonia robusta, appears to have become extinct at
some point within the last 1000 years.
The original meaning of the name Aye-aye has been lost, as the originating
language is extinct.
There is a hypothesis that the word "aye aye" signifies simply a cry
of alarm to alert others to the presence of this animal, which many Malagasy
consider an ill omen.
With D. robusta's extermination, the D. madagascariensis Aye-aye was thought to
be extinct. However, it was later
rediscovered in 1961. Six individuals were transported to Nosy Mangabe, an
island near Maroantsetra in eastern Madagascar
Recent research shows that the Aye-aye is more widespread than was previously
thought, but is still near threatened.
The Aye-aye
They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder,
and unfortunately for this creature, his appearance has given him a bad name.
The superstitious believe that the Aye Aye can cast evil curses with its middle
finger - but, the strange nocturnal primate from Madagascar Bristol
There are several Aye-ayes kept in zoos. The largest
collection of Aye-ayes and the most successful breeding program with a current
population of 22 individuals is at the Duke Lemur Center Duke University Durham , North
Carolina , US US
The Aye-aye is often viewed as a harbinger of
evil and killed on sight.
However, public contempt goes beyond this. The
Aye-aye is often viewed as a harbinger of evil and killed on sight.
Others believe that should one point its long middle finger
at you, you were condemned to death.
Some say the appearance of an Aye-aye in a village predicts
the death of a villager, and the only way to prevent this is to kill the
Aye-aye.
The Sakalava people go so far as to claim Aye-ayes sneak into
houses through the thatched roofs and murder the sleeping occupants by using
their middle finger to puncture the victim's aorta.
Incidents of Aye-aye killings increase every year as its
forest habitats are destroyed and it is forced to raid plantations and
villages. Because of the superstition surrounding it, this often ends in death.
On the other hand, the superstition can prevent people from hunting them for
food.
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