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What is an Aye Aye?
Aye ayes are the largest nocturnal primates in the world and despite their unusual appearance are in fact lemurs. In Madagascar, Aye ayes fill the niche of woodpeckers by using their long skeletal middle finger to tap on wood, then listening for the vibrations of insects with their bat like ears. They use their continuously growing rodent-like teeth to gnaw a hole in the wood and then extract the grubs with their middle finger. Their diet consists of fruit, insect larvae, nuts and nectar and because of this they can live in a wide range of habitats from primary rainforest to dry deciduous forest.

Why are they important?
They are unique because they are the only living species in their family and genus.  They are classified as Near Threatened on the ICUN Red List, although their elusive nature in the wild makes it very difficult to accurately access their true population numbers and more research is desperately needed. They are also ranked number 16 in the Zoological Society of London’s Edge of Existence programme (a project with the aim to conserve the world’s most Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered species).

Wild aye ayes face habitat loss due to deforestation and are killed by farmers as they are deemed a pest feeding on coconut and lychee crops. The Malagasy people also have strong superstitions that the aye ayes are omens of bad luck or death so kill them whenever they leave the forest or enter a town.

Our Aye Ayes
At Durrell we currently have 5 aye ayes, all housed separately as they are solitary in the wild and all with different personalities. Juliette was caught in Madagascar by Gerald Durrell himself, as documented in his book ‘The Aye Aye and I’. When Patrice came to the park two bullets were removed from his head and back but he is now happy and healthy. Durrell was the first place in the world to breed aye ayes which is important to create a safety net should the wild population become extinct.

The problem
The enclosures we have are outdated, difficult to clean and provide no outside access. Aye ayes are the most intelligent lemurs and new enclosures with outdoor and offshow areas away from the public would provide more stimulation as they could experience the weather, different sights and smells and be able to forage. It would reduce stress, improve their overall health and mental wellbeing and allow them to exhibit a wider range of natural behaviours.

What we intend to do
On the 18 of August Tom and I will walk the entire coastline of Jersey, a distance of 48.1 miles, with a toy aye aye. We are asking for your sponsorship and all funds raised will go towards constructing new enclosures for these wonderful animals.

 

 

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