Sunday, June 28, 2009

The Ugly: Aye-Aye

I knew that my next blog post had to be something funny, maybe another profile? I thought of doing fictional animals like the unicorn or something, then remembered this ugly, hilariously looking creature I saw on animal planet once--The Aye-Aye...and secretly chuckled to myself. SO here is the animal in all it's fashionable glamor!

The Aye-Aye is a rain forest dwelling, ape/chimpanzee/HUMAN (whaat??) related ugly monkey-look alike...Madagascar native. and only in Madagascar will you catch a glimpse of the weird looking creature.

It's an omnivore which means it eats both meat and plants and has a diet that consists of fruits, veggies and insects. They are nocturnal, so they spend their days sleeping and only come out at night...and prefer to stay up in the trees unless absolutely necessary to come down.

Like many primates (that's us!) , the Aye-Aye has opposable big toes which help it grip and hang from trees and grab things easier. They can live up to 20 years and have a tail as long as 24 inch es! I think these guys, though ugly...are perfectly loveable <3. href="http://www.animalinfo.org/species/primate/daubmada.htm">here.

Interesting facts about these uglies:
1. They are one of the rare animals that use echolocation to find prey, such as listening for insects that crawl under tree barks
2. To the native people, Aye-Ayes are considered a bad omen...and are often killed on sight....resulting in their name being on the Endangered Species list. (good going humans!) The good news is that they are also now protected by law as their numbers are dwindling.

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