posted October 12, 2007 01:51 AM         

Here is a baby
Aye-aye named Kintana

The adults are actually much cuter... There are some "Must Watch Videos" at end of the article featuring them.

Click Here To Hear What They Sound Like.
Aye-ayes can be found only on the island of Madagascar. These rare animals may not look like primates at first glance, but they are related to chimpanzees, apes, and humans.

Aye-ayes are dark brown or black and are distinguished by a bushy tail that is larger than their body. They also feature big eyes, slender fingers, and large, sensitive ears. Aye-ayes have pointed claws on all their fingers and toes except for their opposable big toes, which enable them to dangle from branches.

Even at this tender age, Kintana brandishes outlandish adaptations for survival in her only native home. In the forest the aye-aye's batlike ears can detect insect larvae squirming inside trees. A bark-breaking bite from tough incisors and a subsequent probe with a long, bony second digit seals the meal.

That adaptation is more curse than blessing for some of these tree dwellers, which are beaten by Madagascan villagers who see the crooked claw as a harbinger of death. Farmers too get their licks, persecuting the world's largest nocturnal primates for their night raids on sweet crops like coconuts and sugarcane. Also, some Madagascans hunt the 4.5-pound (2-kilogram) aye-ayes for their meat.

Aye-ayes spend their lives in rain forest trees and avoid coming down to earth. They are nocturnal, and spend the day curled up in a ball-like nest of leaves and branches. The nests appear as closed spheres with single entry holes, situated in the forks of large trees.

While perched aloft, the aye-aye taps on trees with its long middle finger and listens for wood-boring insect larvae moving under the bark. It employs the same middle finger to fish them out. The digit is also useful for scooping the flesh out of coconuts and other fruits that supplement the animal's insect diet.

Many people native to Madagascar consider the aye-aye an omen of ill luck. For this reason they often have been killed on sight. Such hunting, coupled with habitat destruction, have made the aye-aye critically endangered. Today they are protected by law. Click here to see it in action! Here's another cool Aye-aye video also

posted October 12, 2007 01:01 PM         

I just came across an article where humans are going to marry a robot!