Aye-aye

Status

Endangered

Classification

Mammal

Exhibit

PECO Primate Reserve

A Lemur?

Although it may not look like it, the aye-aye is a type of lemur! However, it's so unique, it is in its own family, genus and species. Humans on the other hand, share the same taxonomic family as gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees and bonobos.

Bad Luck Lemur

Like all lemurs, they are found only in Madagascar. Many Madagascar natives consider these nocturnal creatures an omen of bad luck. In the past, some would even kill them on sight. Today, there are laws in place to protect them.

These primates find their food in a unique way. First, they use their large ears to help them hear larvae in wood. Then, they use their elongated third digits, which they can move independently (like most primates, including humans) from their other fingers, to do what is called percussive foraging. To do this, they tap their long fingers on branches or rotting wood to feel and hear out the larvae. They then chew a hole in the wood with their rodent-like incisors (that grow constantly, unlike any other primate) and dig out their meal.

Very few facilities around the world have aye-ayes under human care. In North America, they are only found at the Duke Lemur Center (Durham, NC), Cincinnati Zoo, Cleveland Zoo, Denver Zoo, San Diego Zoo, Omaha Zoo and Philadelphia Zoo.