Daubentoniidae - aye-ayes

There is one species in this family. The aye-aye is found in forests and thickets in Madagascar. It lives in trees and is nocturnal, in fact, it is the largest nocturnal primate.

Its body is about 1.5 feet long and it has a two foot long bushy tail. It has large, round orange eyes; large, pointed ears; and long, coarse, brown to black fur tipped in white.

It has five long fingers on it hands, and its clawed middle finger is extra long and thin. It uses its long middle finger to tap on trees to locate larvae and insects. It then gnaws on the tree to rip open the bark, and then it uses its middle finger to dig out its prey.

The aye-aye's incisors grow throughout its life, so they are always nice and sharp! The aye-aye also eats nectar, seeds, and fruit. Aye-ayes live alone or in pairs. The female aye-aye gives birth to a single baby. The baby is weaned when it is about seven months old, but it stays with its mother for two years.

World Status Key
Least Concern Near Threatened Vulnerable Endangered Critically Endangered
Extinct in the Wild Extinct
Status and range is taken from ICUN Redlist. If no status is listed, there is not enough data to establish status.

US Status Key
Threatened in US Threatened in NH Endangered in US Endangered in NH
Breeds in NH Introduced
Status taken from US Fish and Wildlife and NH Fish and Game