Aye-ayes are the largest nocturnal primate in the world. They are also the only primate thought to use echolocation, which they use to find grubs up to 2cm deep in a tree.

Subspecies
None.

Life span
Their lifespan in the wild is unknown, but in captivity they can live for up to 23 years.

Statistics
Head and body length: 40cm, Tail length: 40cm, Weight: 2kg

Physical description
Aye-ayes have a long, coarse coat of black or brown fur, tipped with white. They have large eyes, surrounded by black rings. Their ears are large and they have a long, slender middle finger with a long claw, used for extracting insects from tree holes.

Distribution
Aye-ayes live in eastern Madagascar.

Habitat
They occupy rain forests, dry forests, mangroves and bamboo thickets.

Diet
Aye-ayes are particularly adept at finding wood-boring larvae. They tap on wood with their middle finger, listening for hollow spaces. They then extract the larvae with their specially-adapted thin finger. They also feed on seeds, fruit, nectar and fungi.

Behaviour
Aye-ayes live alone or in pairs. Males have much larger ranges than females, and they overlap those of the females. They are nocturnal, and construct elaborate sleeping nests to sleep in during the day. Aye-ayes are arboreal and move quadrupedally.

Reproduction
During mating, aye-ayes hang upside-down on a branch, and the procedure lasts for about an hour. One infant is born after a gestation period of 172 days.

Conservation status
Aye-ayes are classified as Endangered by the 2000 IUCN Red List. They are thought to be the most endangered of all mammals in Madagascar. Locals believe that they are a bad omen, and often kill them.