Aye-aye

According to local legends, the aye-aye is a demon that can kill just by pointing a finger. That fact alone makes it a worthy addition to the Wunderkammer. However, the aye-aye's more prosaic characteristics are equally fascinating...

Close-up of baby Aye-aye
via Factzoo.com

Like much of Madagascar's flora and fauna, it is found nowhere else on Earth. They are the largest nocturnal primate in the world. Although it is classified as a lemur, it has continually-growing incisors like rodents and uses bat-like echolocation to find its prey. It occupies the ecological niche elsewhere filled by woodpeckers (of which there are none in Madagascar) and, most remarkably of all, hangs upside down to have sex!

© Natural History Museum, London

Its fabled "fingers of doom" are actually sophisticated tools which, like some arboreal Gagool, the aye-aye methodically taps tree trunks to seek out grubs. This great video from National Geographic shows the aye-aye in action..  

The thriving folklore around the aye-eye is also one of the main reasons its numbers are in steady decline. In 1933 scientists thought it was extinct, but it was rediscovered in 1957. Unfortunately, many Malagasy still continue to persecute them, not only because of deep-seated superstitions but because they supplement their diet of grubs with farmers' fruit and veg. Also, as is the case in much of the tropics, Madagascar's forests are being felled at an alarming rate.

I have naturalist Gerald Durrell to thank for first introducing me to the aye-aye. During his later life, he was instrumental in aye-aye conservation, setting up an important captive breeding population and working with the Malagasy government and people to  ensure a future for this most curious creature of the night.

Find out more about the aye-aye and how you can help:

• Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust
• Madagascar Fauna Group/Save The Lemur
• Edge Of Existence
• Conservation International