Adorable Aye Aye Born at ZSL London Zoo

Posted By : The Animal Facts Editorial Team

Date: August 19, 2021 11:55 pm

The young aye aye at ZSL London Zoo huddles amongst some bedding material

Photo Credit: ZSL London Zoo

ZSL London Zoo have introduced their elusive baby aye aye born on Wednesday May 19th 2021 but only recently seen outside of the nest box. It spent the first few weeks of life under the watchful eye of mom Sally in the safety of the nest box.

This is only the second time that ZSL London Zoo have welcomed the birth of an aye aye, an endangered lemur species found on the island of Madagascar.

These primates are most noticeable for their long finger used to fish beetle larvae out from trees. Unfortunately these long fingers became the subject of legend with a suggestion that if one was point at you death was imminent. This led to persecution by the local population.

The young aye aye at ZSL London Zoo huddles amongst some bedding material

Photo Credit: ZSL London Zoo

Zookeeper Tegan McPhail said: “Sally has been taking excellent care of her little one, and while we’ve seen the baby briefly, this was the first time it ventured out of its cosy den for long enough for us to take a quick pic.

“With their luminous yellow eyes and long crooked fingers, aye ayes are definitely unique looking; you could hardly call them photogenic but there’s quite literally no other animal like them on earth.”

Keepers will wait till the youngster is more comfortable outside of the nest box before conducting a health check where they will be able to determine the gender of the youngster and they will then be able to decide on a name.

— AD —

The uniqueness of the aye aye has earned them rank number 16 on ZSL’s EDGE of existence list for threatened mammals.

“An EDGE species is one that is Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered, meaning that they have few – if any – close relatives in the tree of life,” says Tegan. “They’re often unusual in appearance and have uniquely evolved traits – and are an irreplaceable part of the world’s evolutionary heritage.”

At present the aye aye family are housed in an off-display area at ZSL London Zoo.