The Baby Aye Aye - A Sign of Good or Evil?

(Last Updated On: March 4, 2022)

Baby aye aye is cute and innocent, is pronounced ‘eye-eye’, and is found on a small island off the southeast coast of Africa, more specifically, in Madagascar.

Well, if you travel to Madagascar, you only see some baby aye aye. He came to Aye, and he only found himself on a small island off the southeast coast of Africa.

Baby aye aye is naughty, which you can tell with those big eyes! She needs her eyes so she can stay active in the dark and sleep during the day. Similar to the adult aye aye, the appearance of the baby Ai Ai is somewhat strange. They are born with popping eyes, overly sensitive ears, and the tail of an overgrown shrub. Let’s not forget that middle finger – it looks like a skeleton finger! Baby aye aye uses this strange finger to “fish” to extract the grubs from the trees.

As they reach their maturity, their coats become dark brown, thick, and crunchy. They even point fingers and toes when they are young. Not only are their toes big, they are also opposing, which enables them to hang from the branches.

These may seem strange to us, but they fit perfectly with life on some of the tallest trees in the rain forest of Madagascar.

Being nocturnal animals, they like to hide in specially designed nests during the day. Their nests are made from leaves and stems.

These are very complex, there is a single hole for the entrance. The nest is spherical and protects them during the day. Ice is active at night and takes advantage of the forest when the night falls.

Baby Aunty teaches their parents how to hunt. They use their middle finger which is extremely bone and thin. It acts as their key sensory organ.

They feed on wood by disturbing pork larvae and grubs. They are capable of sensing the movement of these insects. With their fourth finger they snatched away the insects. They also use their fingers to cut meat from coconut and other fruits. Works better than spoons

What does a baby aye aye mean for survival and success?

A case study on Tonks, a baby aye aye that took four years, with ten departments collaborating at the Denver Zoo,

At 28, the Denver Zoo is one of the few North American endangered i-care organizations. We were in a family of four members of this clever, intriguing and unfriendly creature: mother, Salem; Father, Ozni-Avelo; And sons, Pan and Imp. The successful birth of these two small males was a huge source of enthusiasm for the species, and it eventually created a series that changed the captive population of the world.

Ready for take-off

Transporting an animal to another zoo is complex enough, but requires more cooperation and coordination to move them internationally. Over a year and a half, our registrar orchestrated all the details to take our three Aces to Europe.

There were plenty of supplies, and before leaving the salute, pan, and imp, they each received a veterinary test to make sure they were healthy enough to travel.

A baby aye aye ‘should be chewing things constantly because of their destructive nature and growing incisors. As a solution, the zoo’s maintenance department has designed IA-proof shipping crates for their major European travels.

The Primate team worked to familiarize the i-Ice with these crates to reduce the pressure during transport. Salem, Pan and Imp had established a trusting relationship with their guards and it was important to travel with them to make sure familiar faces arrived safely and honored in their new home.

Settled in a new home

On September 27, two of our guards sailed for Europe with three i-ish. They arrived safely and made it through customs without any complications. It was time to move to their new home. Salem moved to the London Zoo, and Pan & Imp made his way to the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust in Jersey, UK.

Our guards stayed a week in each place to make sure that Salem, Pan, and Imp were happy in their new home; Eat, drink, feel comfortable with their new guards and enjoy their new place.

Once Salem, Pan, and Imp settled in Europe, it was time to bring a new female to our male Ozni-Avelo. The best match for him was a woman named Bellatrix at Duke Lemur Center. But it was a big change – for the first time in the zoo and for the first time in a breeding situation.

The Bellatrix keeper helped us with his favorite issues and peaks at the Denver Zoo. Bellatrix never saw a glass window, and she never saw an excited audience, so we gently introduced her to that new experience to make sure we could be fully comfortable.

Sad news and changed plans

Ozni was very ill a few weeks before Ozzy-Avello and Bellatrix were introduced to each other. Despite the heroic efforts of our veterinarian team to help Ozoni recover, he did not respond to treatment and died a few days later. Primate teams, the Denver Zoo, and the baby aye aye community were devastated.

Upon receiving this sad news, the baby aye aye SSP identified another Aye-Aye as Bellatrix’s match. He was a dirty young man called Smiggle from the Philadelphia Zoo. Again, we made all the intricate plans and arrangements to take him to the Denver Zoo. Soon, Simagal and his new keeper boarded a FedEx plane and returned to their new home in Denver.

Once Smeagol arrived at the Denver Zoo we started the process of introducing him to the Bellatrix. I-IIs were both young animals with no experience editing Ice-lions in the wild but were seen when wives were able to breed and when their territories intersected.

To make this contact a success, we planned for a time when Bellatrix would be at the top of its cycle and interested in confluence. The role went well and we had two dynamic I-IIs in our nocturnal exhibit, giving our visitors a great opportunity to get to know these unique creatures.

I-Ice is not a seasonal breeder, which means they can get pregnant at any time of the year. Five months after being introduced to Simagal, we began to notice indicators that Bellatrix was pregnant. The team was exotic.

We are eager to get a baby’s i-income ready. Unfortunately, nothing is guaranteed and when Bellatrix gave birth to her first child, it was born one. The team mourned the loss and adjusted for the future.

When she was ready to breed again, we re-introduced Siegal to Bellatrix. Bellatrix and Smiggle were able to imagine twice more but suffered two more losses. It is not uncommon for inexperienced mothers to produce and successfully bear children immediately.

After each loss, the veterinary team, fertility specialist, and primate team assess what we can do to improve the chances of Bellatrix for a healthy baby being born.

In addition to a few other minor tweets, we’ve launched a training program that helps monitor and assist the Bellatrix.

One of the primate guards who took care of Ai-Eyes trained Bellatrix to voluntarily present her stomach so that an ultrasound gel and an investigation could be applied. The training took months of coordination and hard work, but it was rewarded by a baby’s heartbeat confirmation.

Ultrasound showed a 4-bit heart rate heartbeat every minute before we knew about this first-come-first-served baby.

August 8 – A week after the pregnancy was confirmed – a guard arrived at Bellatrix’s residence and discovered that he had a living baby! The whole team was thrilled to feel this rare moment.
Meet the World, Tonks

Our birth management plan included certain criteria we had to look at in the first few days of life. The baby was brought to a perfect location to allow the veterinarian’s team to evaluate the treatment, and for the first time, the team saw our little female aye aye light on. The excitement filled the air and we were officially in love.

The baby aye aye’s weight and temperature were at the lower extremities of the AE-AESP, so we returned the nest very quickly with the help of Bellatrix and set up protective observations to monitor the behavior of the mother and baby.

During these observations, we have seen some indications that Bellatrix is not being an attentive mother. The team’s goal was to keep them together and give Bellatrix the opportunity to become an experienced mother. Soon, however, it was clear that we had to intervene to save the baby.

The baby aye aye made it through the night, and her name, Toness – debuted with another Harry Potter character in tribute to her mother Bellatrix.

Bellatrix taught us how to feed her baby, a skill she does not understand. To do this, we needed to subvert Bellatrix so she was calm and allowed Tonks to look for milk.

Tonk was quickly caught, which allowed us to leave him in the nest box with the Bellatrix and extend the time they spent together.

Bellatrix was comfortable with her guards reaching into the trunks to feed her and removing them. They even allowed us to place the nipples on our nipples while they were awake to encourage nursing.

After two nights in the veterinary hospital, we decided to leave Tonks with Bellatrix overnight. We have seen Bellatrix’s maternal behavior: spending more time in the nest box, grooming, and nursing.

This was a big step forward for our primary team and the Bellatrix and the Tonks. Everything goes according to plan and only then has it improved.

As Bellatrix has turned into a seasoned pro from a nervous, non-skilled mother, our primary team has gradually reduced supplemental feeding.

Tones in the spotlight

When we first announced his birth, Tonks turned into a global sensation! He has appeared in local, national and international media outlets, including People, Massive and the Daily Mail. Even National Geographic photographer Joel Sartor stopped by to shoot his photo for The Photo Arc at the Denver Zoo in August. Photos and stories have reached millions of people through media and social media, including National Geographic’s Instagram channel.

All grow up

Since we stopped feeding the supplement, the tonks continued to grow! He is gaining weight and is looking for ways to get around his circle. Like many first-time mothers, Bellatrix was unsure about even trying to push Tonks from home, even pushing Tonks back – but Tonks refused to be included as she began exploring her world.

The most recent achievement was to reproduce Bellatrix and Tonks to Simagall, Dad. At first, Smiggle was unsure about the new Squirrel addition, but all three of them fell into a great routine. They spend time together while enjoying their alone time.

From conception to birth to today, it has become a long road for both Tones and our staff. It was a huge team effort from many different individuals, departments and external organizations as we worked tirelessly to keep the tones and Bellatrix happy and healthy.

And lastly, the baby aye aye provides a great way for a new member of our Denver Zoo family. It really takes a village, doesn’t it?