Aye-aye! It's a boy!No, it's not a cast member from "Gremlins." It's a baby aye-aye -- the first member of this endangered en·dan·ger tr.v. en·dan·gered, en·dan·ger·ing, en·dan·gers 1. To expose to harm or danger; imperil. 2. To threaten with extinction. primate primate, member of the mammalian order Primates, which includes humans, apes, monkeys, and prosimians, or lower primates. The group can be traced to the late Cretaceous period, where members were forest dwellers. species born in the Western Hemisphere Western Hemisphere Part of Earth comprising North and South America and the surrounding waters. Longitudes 20° W and 160° E are often considered its boundaries. . The 5-ounce newborn newborn /new·born/ (noo´born?) 1. recently born. 2. newborn infant. new·born adj. Very recently born. n. A neonate. arrived sometime between the evening of April 5 and the morning of April 6 at the Duke University Primate Center in Durham, N.C. Researchers there named the tiny male Blue Devil blue devil n. 1. A blue capsule or tablet containing barbiturate amobarbital or its sodium derivative. 2. A feeling of depression; despondency. , in honor of the university's winning men's basketball team. Duke scientists captured Blue Devil's mother, Endora, last year in Madagascar, where she apparently had become pregnant. Elwyn Simons, scientific director of the primate center, says Blue Devil will grow up with Endora and her new mate, Nosferatu. Duke has maintained a colony of aye-ayes since 1988 as part of an international attempt to save the sinister-looking animals from extinction (SN: 3/19/88, p. 183). In their native Madagascar, aye-ayes are considered bad luck, and villagers hunt them down whenever possible. Legend has it that if an aye-aye points its bony third finger at you, you will die soon. In reality, the animals' enormous ears and long fingers are adapted for hearing and capturing bark-eating grubs. |
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