Kintana the Aye-Aye: Lemur Fever... Catch it! - Bilge

Z ZebraTiki Member Enchanted Bay Area, CA Joined: Aug 01, 2004 Posts: 530	Z ZebraTiki Posted posted on Wed, Apr 20, 2005 8:35 PM A face only another aye-aye could love! I wish I could look that surprised! The San Francisco Zoo had (no longer there)an 'Aye-Aye Forest' exhibit that was set up with reverse daylight hours, so inside the building, it was night lighting in the day. The aye-ayes generally don't do well incaptivity, as they forage and hunt like weasels on speed 15 hours a day, and need a lot of territory to cover. Aye-ayes are believed by natives in Madagascar to be either the tormented souls of the recently deceased, or devils incarnate, so the natives try to kill them when they are found. Aye-ayes have an etraordinarly long index 'finger' that they use to tap on branches to create an echo of wood that is harboring the insects that they eat. They break open the branch with their enormous teeth, then use their tapping finger as a tool to extract the bugs and grub from inside the branch. Thus, sometimes the aye-ayes are found searching for grubs near gravesites, and promoting the theory among remote villages that the aye-aye is a tormented soul, or a devil looking to steal one. If there's a zoo with aye-ayes near you, definitely go see them, unless you're off to Madagascar to hang around grub-infested trees at night, that is.

A face only another aye-aye could love! I wish I could look that surprised!

The San Francisco Zoo had (no longer there)an 'Aye-Aye Forest' exhibit that was set up with reverse daylight hours, so inside the building, it was night lighting in the day. The aye-ayes generally don't do well incaptivity, as they forage and hunt like weasels on speed 15 hours a day, and need a lot of territory to cover.

Aye-ayes are believed by natives in Madagascar to be either the tormented souls of the recently deceased, or devils incarnate, so the natives try to kill them when they are found.

Aye-ayes have an etraordinarly long index 'finger' that they use to tap on branches to create an echo of wood that is harboring the insects that they eat. They break open the branch with their enormous teeth, then use their tapping finger as a tool to extract the bugs and grub from inside the branch. Thus, sometimes the aye-ayes are found searching for grubs near gravesites, and promoting the theory among remote villages that the aye-aye is a tormented soul, or a devil looking to steal one.

If there's a zoo with aye-ayes near you, definitely go see them, unless you're off to Madagascar to hang around grub-infested trees at night, that is.

Post #154121 by ZebraTiki on Wed, Apr 20, 2005 8:35 PM