Do Aye-Ayes eat meat? The food habits of the Aye-Aye have been intriguing to researchers and wildlife enthusiasts for a long time. Briefly, we will explore the mysteries behind this creature and also find out if it eats meat.
What is an Aye-Aye?
The Madagascar rainforests is home to the Aye-Aye, a primate with unique characteristics and behavior. It is also known as the Daubentonia madagascariensis and only found in Madagascar’s rainforests and nowhere else in the world.
One of the intriguing questions about it is whether its meats or not. Here we will answer that question.
Do Aye-Ayes Eat Meat?
Before we go further, we will look at its different dietary habits which includes meat below:
1. Insectivore Habits
They are primarily insectivorous in nature; this means that they feed on insects. One of the features of the Aye-Aye that makes this possible, it its elongated middle finger which is often referred to as a “witch’s finger”. This finger plays an important role in its feeding habits.
These fingers are used by the Aye-Aye to tap on a tree bark, to locate some holes that may contain insects of any type, especially those found regularly on a wood.
Once they find these holes, they use the witch’s finger to get out the insects from the wood. This serves as their primary source of protein.
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2. Fruit, Seeds and Nectar
Although they are known to be insectivorous in nature, they also supplement their diets with fruits from different plant species, seeds and also on nectar.
This characteristics of theirs plays a great role on the forest ecosystem in the sense that, they help in seed dispersal and pollination as they move around feeding on fruits from different plant species and also on nectar.
3. Meat Consumption
Primarily, the Aye-Aye feeds on insects and fruits, but occasionally, they have been seen eating small vertebrates in the wild. Then feed on animals such as rodents, nestlings, bird eggs and other smaller animals.
These occasional instances of animal intake show their dietary diversity. To tell of which types of animals they can eat depends on their encounter with such animal.
Aye-Aye feeding on other animals provide them with additional protein source to supplement insect and larvae in case of non-availability.