aye-aye

The aye-aye is a nocturnal animal that lives in the dense forests of Madagascar. Closely related to the lemur, the aye-aye has large forward-looking eyes, powerful rodentlike teeth, large ears, and a particularly long middle finger which is used to dig insects out of tree trunks.

Nocturnal tree-climbing prosimian Daubentonia madagascariensis of Madagascar, related to the lemurs. It is just over 1 m/3 ft long, including a tail 50 cm/20 in long.

It has an exceptionally long middle finger with which it probes for insects and their larvae under the bark of trees, and gnawing, rodentlike front teeth, with which it tears off the bark to get at its prey. The aye-aye has become rare through loss of its forest habitat, and is now classified as an endangered species.

One of at least 25 endemic primate species threatened by catastrophic deforestation in Madagascar, it is confined to a few scattered individuals in coastal districts, although a breeding colony has been established on an offshore island from animals raised in zoos. The first aye-aye born outside Madagascar for more than a century was born at Duke University Primate Center in North Carolina in April 1992.