edHelper.com
Animal Themes
Endangered Animals Theme Unit
Mammals

Aye-ayes

Aye-ayes
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 3 to 6
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   7.69

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    aspect, confirmation, hence, larva, opening, species, superstition, section, bony, lies, perhaps, hearing, rate, swift, mostly, encounter

Print Aye-ayes
edHelper.com subscriber options:
     Print Aye-ayes  (font options, pick words for additional puzzles, and more)
     Quickly print reading comprehension
     Print a proofreading activity

Feedback on Aye-ayes
     Leave your feedback on Aye-ayes  (use this link if you found an error in the story)

Other Languages
     Spanish: Aye-ayes

Aye-ayes   
1     Aye-ayes are perhaps the oddest-looking members of the primate family. Like foxes, aye-ayes have long, bushy tails. Like rodents, aye-ayes have four special incisor teeth that never stop growing. Like bats, aye-ayes have large, hairless ears and a keen sense of hearing. Nevertheless, the strangest aspect of aye-ayes bears no resemblance to any other animals. So, what is this special physical feature that we can only see on aye-ayes? The answer lies in their hands.
 
2     Aye-ayes have a very long, bony middle finger on each hand. When aye-ayes are hungry, they use their middle fingers to tap on tree branches or trunks. As they do so, aye-ayes listen intently for traces of hollow sounds. Once they discover a cavity, they continue tapping on it to determine if an insect larva lives there. As soon as they receive the confirmation, aye-ayes chisel a hole on the food-bearing section of the wood with their incisors. Then, they insert their middle fingers into the small opening and scoop out the larva. Indeed, this hunting method employed by aye-ayes is very similar to that used by woodpeckers. So, we can say that aye-ayes are really the primate version of woodpeckers! Aside from eating insect larvae, aye-ayes also like to feed on coconuts, mangoes, and fungi.

Paragraphs 3 to 4:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable
Copyright © 2008 edHelper