Do your kids love animals that look a bit creepy?
Meet the scary-looking nocturnal lemur with freaking fingers. This unique primate has the face of a possum, the tooth of a mouse, and a bat’s ears. Its scientific name is Daubentonia Madagascariensis, and the lemur is in Madagascar. It is an endangered and misunderstood animal. Aye-ayes are a type of lemur, and lemurs are one of the world’s most endangered animals. There is a legend that seeing an aye-aye is bad luck, and if it points its long finger at you, death is not far away. This means there has been little effort to protect this unique animal.
How did it get its name? There are several ideas, from the animal’s peculiar cry to Malagasy people crying out “aiee!-aiee!” in fright of the creepy-looking animal.
Aye-aye is the only primate which has ever-growing incisors. This means the animal has strong, sharp teeth to gnaw through nuts and hard-shelled fruits. A third eyelid protects the eye from debris when the aye-aye gnaws through wooden branches.
The aye-aye’s witch-like fingers and toes are special. They all have pointed claws (their opposable big toes lack the claws). The middle finger on each hand is thinner than the rest of their fingers. The fingers carry out a range of motions since they have a ball-and-socket joint. The aye-ayes hunt for food using a special method called ‘percussive foraging’. They tap up to eight times on trees with their long middle finger and listen for wood-boring insect larvae moving under the bark. Like bats, they use echolocation signals to detect movements and vibrations of insect larvae when they are moving within cavities in the tree trunk. Their big ears help them to capture sounds when they are tapping. This approach is similar to a woodpecker using its beak to find food. The long middle finger is used to dig the larvae out and to scope out the flesh of coconuts and other fruits.
A project about this remarkable, although creepy, creature is perfect when learning about endangered animals or animals living in Africa. Of course, the spooky-looking fingers are the perfect inspiration for Halloween!
Aye-aye Gets Lucky by Terri Tachell
You’ll find a resource here and here about Aye-Aye.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is biomimicry?
Biomimicry is the practice of looking to nature for solutions, then applying what we learn to design and problem-solving. Instead of inventing from scratch, it means studying how plants, animals, and ecosystems have already solved a challenge — like staying cool, collecting water, or absorbing carbon — and adapting that strategy for human use.
How does biomimicry help address climate change?
Nature has been adapting to extreme conditions for billions of years, so many organisms already hold working solutions to problems we now face at a larger scale — cooling buildings without electricity (termite mounds), collecting water in drought (the Namib beetle), protecting coastlines from storms (mangrove roots), and capturing carbon (corals, forests, kelp). Biomimicry means studying those solutions and applying the same principles to human design.
How can children get involved in biomimicry?
Children don’t need special training to think like a biomimicrist — just curiosity and a habit of asking “how does nature solve this?” Simple ways to start include a backyard scavenger hunt for nature’s patterns, a “design-an-animal” challenge for a changing climate, or building a small model (like a passive-cooling structure or a water collector) inspired by something they’ve observed outdoors.
Is biomimicry only for scientists and engineers?
No — biomimicry is as much a mindset as a profession. Anyone can practice it by observing nature closely and asking design questions. Professional biomimicry practitioners apply it in architecture, materials science, and engineering, but the same core skill — careful observation followed by “what if we built it that way?” — is exactly what this post’s classroom and family activities are designed to build in children.
Åsa Jomård
In 2015, Åsa completed a course in Biomimicry: A Sustainable Design Methodology at Minneapolis College of Art and Design. With over 10 years of experience exploring nature for inspiration and as a former member of Ben, Biomimicry Education Network, she brings both academic background and creative teaching experience to her work. Her materials seamlessly integrate stories, nature observations, and design challenges, making them perfect for inquiry-led learning in early primary contexts.
AI was used as a Thinking Partner.