100 
THE AYE- AYE. 
It is probable tliat the natural food of the Aye-aye, like that of the preceding animals, is 
of a mixed character, and that it eats fruit and insects indiscriminately. In captivity it usually 
ate boiled rice, which it picked up in minute portions, like Amine in the “Arabian Nights,” 
using, however, its slender fingers in lien of the celebrated bodkin with which she made her 
mock meal. But in its wild state it is said to search the trees for insects as well as fruits, and 
to drag their larvae from their 
concealment by means of its 
delicate fingers. Buds and 
various fruits are also said 
to be eaten by this animal — 
possibly the buds may con- 
tain a hidden grub, and the 
entire flower be eaten for the 
sake of the living creature 
which it contains, as is the 
case with many a bud that 
is plucked by small birds hi 
this country. 
It is a nocturnal animal 
like the Galagos and Lemurs, 
and seeks its prey by night 
only, spending the day in 
sleep, curled up in the dark 
hollow of a tree, or in some 
similar spot, where it can 
retire from view and from 
light. 
As is shown by the scien- 
tific name of the Aye-aye, it 
is a native of Madagascar, 
and even in that island is ex- 
tremely scarce, appearing to 
be limited to the western 
portions of the country, and 
to escape even the quick eyes 
of the natives. Sonnerat, the 
naturalist, was the first to 
discover it, and when he 
showed his prize to the na- 
tives, they exhibited great 
astonishment at the sight of 
an unknown animal, and the 
exclamations of surprise are 
THE AYE-AYE .— Chiromys madagascarensis. 
said to have given the name 
of Aye-aye to the creature. The name “ Cheiromys,” signifies “ Handed Mouse,” and is given 
to the animal because it bears some resemblance to a large mouse or rat which is furnished 
with hand-like paws instead of feet. 
With the exception of the Aye-aye, all the Quadrumanous animals bear their mammae 
upon the breast, and clasp their young to their bosoms with their arms. But in the Aye-aye, 
the milk-giving organs are placed on the lower portion of the abdomen, and thus a great dis- 
tinction is at once made between this creature and the true quadrumana. Indeed, there are 
so many points of discrepancy in this strange being, that it is quite impossible to make it agree 
with the systematic laws which have hitherto been laid down, and naturalists place it in one 
order or another, according to the stress which they lay on different points of its organization. 
