Scientific Name:

Daubentonia Madascarienses

Common Name:

Aye-Aye

Physical Descriptors:

The Aye-Aye is about the size of a rabbit. It's average weight is 2,800 grams. It has black coarse fur and a large bushy tale. It has extremely large ears and eyes. It has an unusualy large third finger used to probe for insects. It has a larger brain case then other lemurs. It's dental formula was not confirmed. In one reference it was given that it had two incisors, no canines, one premoler, and six molers. In another reference the formula was given as two incisors, no canines, four premolers, and six molers. It's body length is 16 inches and it's tail length is also 16 inches on average.

Geography:

The Aye-Aye is found only in the mountainous rain forests of Madagascar.

Habitat:

As stated in the category of geography above, the Aye-Aye lives in the deep rain forests. They hunt during the night and during the day they sleep in nests of twigs and leaves that they build in trees.

Food:

The Aye-Aye is built to detect and dig out larvae and grubs in rotting trees. It also uses it's long finger to break open coconuts and it enjoys eating sugercane from farmers fields.

Population Structure:

little is known about the specific social structure of the Aye-Aye. It is known that many lemurs hunt and live in groups. In some lemur societies it seems that the females are dominant. Lemurs have also been said to have nurseries and feeding cooperatives as well as hunting and defensive groups. This is evidence of a very organized social structure. The range of these groups is limited to the ever depleting rain forests of Madagascar. As for specific ranges of the Aye-Aye, I was unable to find any information on this.

Reproductive Strategy:

Many lemurs are monogamous but the reproductive stategy of the Aye- Aye was not specifically told. If they are like other lemurs the females probably have and estrus of a few hours a year. Most lemurs have only one offspring at a time so it can probably be assumed that the Aye-Aye also has only one at a time.

Current Conditions:

The Aye-Aye is one of the strangest animals in the world. It took about a century for it to be recognized as a lemur. They are also very hard to find. They live in the rain forest and sleep during the day which makes them hard to spot. Only during the night would a person have a chance to see it active. Because it is nocturnal it is easy prey to poachers. Twenty-five years ago it was practically extinct. In some parts of madagascar it is considered bad luck to kill one, while in other parts they are considered evil and are killed frequently because of this belief. They are more protected now. The MananaraIvontaka region will soon be designated a biosphere reserve to protect endangered species such as the Aye-Aye.

References:

Primate Adaption and Evolution by John G. Fleagle

Evolutionary History of the Primates by Frederick S. Szalay and Eric Delson.

National Geographic, volume 174,no 2, Aug. 1988.

Lemurs On the Edge of Survival by Alison Jolly pgs 135-147.