THE AYE-AYE 47 



of the lower jaw namely, that the two sides are only joined 

 together by a strong ligament, and do not, as in other animals, 

 form one connected circle of bone. This accounts for the 

 prodigious power of gnawing that the aye-aye possesses. It 

 was seen to cut through a strip of tin-plate nailed to the door of 

 its cage. 



TJie aye-aye constructs true nests, about two and a half feet 

 in diameter, which are found on trees in the dense parts of the 

 forest. Near the coast these are composed of jrollej^u leaves 

 of the traveller's tree, and are lined with twigs and dry leaves. 

 The openirig'ol the nest is at the side, and a small white insect 

 called andaitra, probably the larva of some beetle, forms the 

 animal's chief food. It is said to be very savage, and strikes 

 rapidly with its hands. The coast people believe it to be an 

 embodiment of their forefathers, and so will not touch it, much 

 less do it an injury ; and if they attempted to entrap it, they 

 think they would surely die in consequence ; and their supersti- 

 tion extends even to its nest. 



The aye-aye is one of the many instances which the animal 

 life of Madagascar presents of isolation from other forms. It 

 remains the only species of its genus, and, like many of the 

 peculiar birds of the island, is one of the many proofs that 

 Madagascar has for long ages been separated from Africa ; so 

 that while allied forms have become extinct on the continent, 

 here, protected from the competition of stronger animals, many 

 birds, mammals and insects have been preserved, and so this 

 island is a kind of museum of ancient and elsewhere unknown 

 forms of life. 



