A lemur of Madagascar and the world’s largest nocturnal primate, with rodent-like teeth that never stop growing and a thin, bony middle finger. It taps on wood, listens for hollows where grubs live, gnaws a hole and hooks them out.
Quick answers
What is it?Mammal
Carnivore?Omnivore
Dangerous?No
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Night
The world's largest nocturnal primate.
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?No
At a glance
Found inMadagascar
HabitatRainforest, Forest
ColoursBlack, Brown
SizeSmall
Length36–43 cm, plus a 56–61 cm tail
WeightAround 2 kg
Legs4
Covered inFur
Lives alone
Lives for20 years
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Madagascar.
- What it eats
- Omnivore: seeds, nuts, fruit, nectar, fungi and honey, plus wood-boring beetle larvae.
- Conservation
- Endangered (IUCN Red List)
Did you know
Taps trees with a long skeletal middle finger and listens for grubs inside.
It taps on trees up to eight times a second while listening for grubs.
Some local people see it as an omen of evil and death, and kill it.
Often confused with
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