Learn from videos! Characteristic behaviors of Aye-aye

What comes to mind when you hear the word "Aye-aye"?

Many people probably remember the children's song "Aye-aye" and know that it's a type of monkey. However, few people have actually seen a real Aye-aye. And that's because Aye-aye only live on the island of Madagascar in Africa, about 10,000 km from Japan, and in Japan, they can only be seen at Ueno Zoo.

This time, we'll introduce some of the unique behaviors of Aye-aye, which are not often seen, with the help of videos.

Characteristic behavior of Aye-aye

This nocturnal animal doesn't look like a monkey, with its large ears, long, slender middle finger, and sharp, strong front teeth. First, let's watch it use these features to eat nuts.

The aye-aye lightly taps the nut with its finger to check the contents, pokes a hole with its front teeth, and then uses its long, slender middle finger to extract and eat the contents. This series of actions to obtain food is unique to Aye-aye and is its most notable characteristic.

In order to elicit these distinctive behaviors, our zoo employs various methods, as follows:

1. A mechanism for taking out and eating insects placed in a bamboo tube.

animal keeper have placed bamboo tubes with small holes in several locations in the enclosure and put insects into a different tube each day. This encourages Aye-aye to engage in "exploratory behavior" as they search for food.

2. Have Aye-aye drill holes in the bamboo itself.

If you give them bamboo tubes without holes, Aye-aye will make holes themselves to take out the insects. By requiring them to go through the "effort" of feeding, just like in the wild, their natural foraging behavior is better replicated, and they spend more time eating.

3. Observe finger movements using a transparent acrylic case.

Using a transparent case allows us to observe how the insects use their long, slender middle fingers to retrieve food from small holes. Additionally, placing small pieces of wood inside the case to hide the insects increases the difficulty of obtaining the food.

These efforts help to bring out the unique behaviors of Aye-aye and create an environment where they can live more fulfilling lives.
As the weather gets hotter and the sun is stronger, please take your time to observe the animals in the cool indoors at "Aye-aye Forest."

Since Aye-aye are nocturnal animals, we reverse the day-night lighting to create a nighttime atmosphere during exhibit hours. Therefore, some videos may appear dark; we apologize for this.

[Ueno Zoo West Garden Animal Care and Exhibition Staff]