Unique Characteristics Of The Aye-Aye

The Aye-aye is one of the most interesting primates in the world. It is a very unique animal because it has a lot of traits that are specific unto itself. An example of the Aye-aye’s unique traits is that according to National Geographic “Aye-ayes are the only primates thought to use echolocation to find prey.” This is just one of the many unique characteristics that only the Aye-aye possesses. The Aye-aye is threatened by a lot of things that cannot merely decide to stop attacking it. They attack this animal for food and that is just part of their nature. Humans are the exception to this. We control the Aye-aye’s very existence. This makes us the Judge, Jury, and Executioner.

The Aye-aye or as its known in the scientific community, the
This is due, in part, because they are distinctly unattractive creatures so they are not necessarily popular attractions. It can also be attributed to the fact that there just are not that many of them in the wild to be in captivity in the first place. The Duke Lemur Center reports that there are about 50 Aye-aye’s in captivity worldwide. There are currently two Aye-aye’s at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha. Of that 50 worldwide 23 are in the United States. Breeding of these animals can be difficult because they can only have one offspring per cycle. The Aye-aye, in captivity, can give birth every 2 to 3 years. “In the wild, infants are weaned as early as 7 months, but they will continue nursing in captivity as long as they remain housed with their mothers; infants might still be nursing even at 1.5 years of age...”(Duke Lemur Center). The differences in wild versus captive are wildly apart but that is as
They have independant digit control. In the scholarly article Independent Digit Control in Foraging by the Aye-Aye (Daubentonia Madagascariensis) by Milliken, G W he talks about how the Aye-aye has the “most extreme hand length relative to body size” among any primate. This is very helpful to the aye-aye as it is a huge advantage in foraging for insects. The third digit is different than the others because its “relatively gracile construction and greater flexibility in the joints”. The third digit is shorter than the fourth but it is able to essentially extend because, according to Milliken’s article “...the metacarpal to which this digit is attached acts as an extension base and the web of skin between the second and fourth digits has been suppressed. The bowed proximal phalanx of the third digit has a double-jointed