How Long Does it Take for An Aye-Aye to Mature?- Madagascar is an island home of diverse unique primates and the Aye-Aye is one of such unique primates. Aye-Aye is unique because of it special physical features and behavior.
The lifecycle of the Aye-Aye is one of the captivating aspects that intrigue researchers most especially the timeframe it takes for them to grow into maturity.
How Long Does it Take for An Aye-Aye to Mature?
Here, we will examine their maturity process and also shed light on how they grow and develop.
Their process of maturity captivating process that reflects how unique their lifestyle is and how they adapt to their environment.
The stages of their growth and development are described below:
1. Birth and Infant Stage
Aye-Ayes have a gestation period of about five (5) to Six (6) months. When they are born, they look very small and vulnerable, they depend completely on their mother for care, food and security.
The small Aye-Ayes cleave to their mother’s bosom as she goes round in search of food. The young aye-ayes are very fragile and depend on the support of their mothers to survive the ecosystem.
2. Weaning Stage
The infant Aye-Ayes starts to wean as the grow, they begin to transition from sucking the mother’s breast milk to eating insects, larva and other solid food.
Their weaning period varies but it often starts from they reach five (5) to six (6) months old until when they are about one year old.
3. Juvenile Stage
At one year of age, the Aye-Aye infant become juveniles, at this stage, the become more independent on their mother and are adapted to their environment.
At the juvenile stage, they begin to sharpen their foraging skills as the go round with their mothers to search for food. The Juvenile stage is still their learning stage they are not fully independent on their mother.
4. Maturity
The Aye Ayes become sexually matured at approximately two (2) to three (3) years. At this age, they can start reproducing.
Conclusion
The Aye-Ayes is characterized with slow development stages, this lengthy period of growth and development makes them depend on their mothers for food, care, safety and support for a lengthy period.
So, to answer the question, “How long does it take for an aye-aye to mature? We can say that it takes two (2) to Three (3) years for an Aye-Aye to grow into sexual Maturity.