How do aye-ayes eat their food? The Aye-Aye is an elusive and unusual animal found in the thick forest in Madagascar. It is a nocturnal creature with special feature in its method of feeding.
How Do Aye-Ayes Eat their Food?
They Aye-Ayes feed on insects using their long and skinny mid finger. Here, more light will be shed on how they feed through this wonderful feeding behaviour.
The Aye-Aye’s Specialized Finger
The long middle finger of the Aye-Aye is what make its anatomy very unique, the middle finger is three times longer than its other fingers. This finger enables it extract insect from bark of tree to feed.
When search for insects the Aye-Aye taps the tree branch surface just like a woodpecker using it long middle finger.
Vibration is generated beneath the surface of the branch due to the tap enabling the Aye-Aye to find the insect larvae hidden beneath the branch surface.
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Hunting Insects
Immediately the Aye-Aye detects the presence of an insect within, it digs into the branch using its long middle finger to extract the insect.
The prolong mid finger has a unique claw which makes it easy for Aye-Aye to dig into holes of tree bark to extract insects.
Their prey constitutes varieties of insects like larvae, grubs and some other invertebrates that lives in trees.
Dietary Adaptations and Diversity
Aye-Ayes do not only feed on insects, they also feed on seeds, nectars and fruits. Nevertheless, their method of searching for these other food items is different from the method they use to hunt insects.
They use their incisor teeth which is sharp to eat into fruits flesh and reach to the nutritious interior with help of their strong jaws. This diverse dieting helps them to achieve their nutritional requirement in the wild.