Specimen of the Month: the Aye-aye

Emma-Louise Nicholls, our Deputy Keeper of Natural History, tells us all about the Aye-aye.

A Law unto its Own

The Madagascan Aye-aye is not like the other kids in the playground. Whilst it’s most closely related to lemurs, it’s the only surviving species within its entire scientific family (Daubentoniidae). A curious-looking creature, it has the body of a lemur, the ears of a huge bat, the tail of an Ikea toilet brush and the teeth of a well-flossed beaver.

The aye-aye first became known to western science in the late 1700s, but other than working out which end was the front, scientists didn’t seem to know what to make of it. The first formal description had the aye-aye classed as a rodent based on the continually growing teeth. Via a brief sojourn into the squirrel family in 1790, it finally arrived in the primate sector in 1850.

Portent of Evil

People across the world are inclined to be suspicious of things that look weird, act strangely, or smell funny. Unfortunately for the aye-aye, it probably does all three. With its dark wiry fur, ginormous eyes, tarantula-like hands (see below), and secretive nature, the aye-aye was awarded the title ‘Portent of Evil’ early on by the people of Madagascar, and has been persecuted ever since. In a delightful letter (in a historic context sort of a way) written by Sonnerat, he described the difficulty this caused him in obtaining a specimen:

I am told that the Aye-aye is an object of veneration at Madagascar, and that if any native touches one, he is sure to die within the year; hence the difficulty of obtaining a specimen. I overcame this scruple by a reward of £10.

We all know the pre-Brexit pound was worth a whole lot more than it is today, so it is little wonder this was enough to sway a local to ‘dance with the devil’, as it were.

The Walking Dead

After the first formal description was published in 1782, no other western scientist saw hide nor hair of an aye-aye for the next 70 years. One would clearly lose every time at hide-n-seek with an aye-aye. As a consequence, it was rumoured that either the aye-aye had gone extinct, or that the whole thing had been a hoax all along.

In 1844, De Castelle travelled to Madagascar and was successful in not only seeing another aye-aye but in capturing a live animal. As we western scientists liked to do ‘back in the day’, he caught it, bundled it into a crate, and shipped it off to Europe. Inevitably, the poor thing expired en route.

It wouldn’t be until 1862 that someone would manage to convince an aye-aye to stay alive for the duration of the journey to England. Although both a male and a female boarded the boat, only the stronger sex survived and the female was subsequently taken to London Zoo where, as of 12 August 1862, she became the first live aye-aye seen on public display. She was even featured in the Illustrated London News in 1862.

Due to its incredibly elusive nature, the aye-aye was again declared extinct in the wild in 1933, until it was re-re-discovered in 1957.

By the way… well-taken photographs of living aye-ayes will prove that they are actually adorable!