Weird Animals – A List Of The World’s Strangest Species

Aye-Aye
Aye-aye
Scientific name: Daubentonia madagascariensis

Type of animal: Mammal

Family: Daubentoniidae

Where found: Africa (Madagascar)

Conservation status: Endangered

Lemurs are a group of primates found only on the African island country of Madagascar. The aye-aye is without doubt one of the weirdest lemurs, due to its bizarre appearance and the way in which it finds food.

The aye-aye is nocturnal and primarily arboreal (tree-dwelling). It has a pointed face with large, orange eyes and large ears. It is around 60 cm / 2 ft. tall, with a tail longer than its body, and is the world's largest nocturnal primate.

Locals believe that bad luck will befall anyone caught in the aye-aye’s gaze!

The aye-aye finds food using echolocation. It taps on tree trunks with a specialized middle finger; from the sound of the taps, it can tell if there is an insect larva buried under the bark.

Once prey has been located, the aye-aye uses its sharp teeth to gnaw a hole in the wood and its long, thin fingers to extract the insect.