Aye Aye

Facts

IUCN NEAR THREATENED (NT)

Facts about this animal

The aye-aye is the largest nocturnal prosimian. It has a head-body length of about 40-50 cm and a tail length of about 50-60 cm. Body-weight is about 3 kgs. Its blackish coat is made up of both short and long, coarse straight hairs. Its head is short and it has very large ears. The incisors are highly developed and grow continually. The third finger, which is used to extract insect larvae from holes is long, slender and very dexterious.

Aye-ayes are nocturnal. They live generally solitary and spend the day in nests of leaves and branches that they usually build at the top of large trees.

Did you know?
that the aye-aye's survival is not only threatened by loss of habitat but also by local superstition? Some Malagasy people believe that the aye-aye brings bad luck and will kill any that they find. They also use dead aye-ayes to bring bad luck upon their enemies by leaving them in their enemy's front yard.

Factsheet
Class	MAMMALIA
Order	PRIMATES
Suborder	PROSIMIA
Family	DAUBENTONIIDAE
Name (Scientific)	Daubentonia madagascariensis
Name (English)	Aye Aye
Name (French)	Aye aye
Name (German)	Fingertier, Aye-aye
Name (Spanish)	Aye-aye
Local names	Malagasy: Hai-Hai
CITES Status	Appendix I
CMS Status	Not listed

Photo Copyright by
Tom Junek

Distribution

Distribution
Range	Coastal areas of eastern and north-western Madagascar
Habitat	Tropical forest and rainforest, cultivated areas
Wild population	1'000-10'000 (1994)
Zoo population	44 registered by the International studbook (end of 2004), 38 reported to ISIS (2005)

In the Zoo

How this animal should be transported

For air transport, Container Note 31 of the IATA Live Animals Regulations should be followed.

Find this animal on ZooLex

Photo Copyright by
Tom Junek

Why do zoos keep this animal

The aye-aye is an endangered species. With a view of building up a reserve population, an International Studbook has been established in 1992 under the WAZA umbrella, and ca oordinated conservation breeding programme is are operated at the regional level by AZA. The aye-aye is the only representative of a highly specialized family of primates and is therefore also of major educational interest.

How this animal should be kept

Aye-ayes are usually exhibited in nocturnal houses. They are solitary animals and should be kept in pairs with immature offspring. The enclosure must come up to the following minimum requirements: surface 20 m², height 3.0 m, room temperature at least 20°C, 50-75 %. The day phase should be around 12 hours. Ample vertical and horizontal branches or bamboos are required for climbing and jumping, and sleeping boxes should be provided in the upper part of the enclosure. Shredded bark is a suitable substrate to cover the ground.

Food should be offered at least twice per day. The diet may vary according to season and should consist of a variety of nuts, seeds, fruit and vegetables, and must include animal protein such as locusts, crickets and baby mice.