Elphaba the aye-aye: The six-week old lemur was born at the Duke Lemur Centre in Durham, North Carolina and named after the young girl in the musical Wicked who becomes the Wicked Witch of the WestWith its bulging yellow eyes and giant floppy ears, this cute baby aye-aye just wants to be loved.
But the six-week-old lemur is considered an evil omen in parts of its native Madagascar and must be killed on sight to avoid bringing bad luck.
It is believed by that if one points its long and narrow food-foraging finger at you, you are condemned to death.
Some even say the appearance of an aye-aye in a village predicts the death of a villager.
Eyes and ears: Elphaba bears a striking resemblance to Yoda from Star WarsIt is considered by many to be the strangest primate in the world with unusual physical characteristics including incisors that never stop growing, something unique among primates, extremely large ears, and a middle finger which is skeletal in appearance and is used by the animal as a primary sensory organ.
The six-week old was born at the Duke Lemur Centre in Durham, North Carolina and named Elphaba, after the young girl in the musical Wicked who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West.
It has a very specialised diet including grubs, nuts and animal matter. It walks along a branch tapping it with its bony finger and cupping its huge ears to listen to any movements within.
When it finds an insect tunnel, it rips the bark away and inserts its finger into the hole to hook the grub.
Unlike many lemur species that are hunted for food, aye-ayes are sometimes killed as crop-threatening pests in agricultural areas.
source: dailymail
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