How the Aye-Aye Taps Into Lunch

Isaiah 45:18
“For thus says the LORD. Who formed the earth and made it. Who formed it to be inhabited: ‘I am the LORD, and there is no other.”

The Aye-Aye is one of the strangest little monkeys on earth. Its peculiar features bear witness that it was specially designed and created to fill a unique niche in nature, not a chance development of evolution.

The Aye-Aye lives in Madagascar. This small creature has huge ears and an extra long middle finger. It crawls on trees, tapping on them to find grubs. The Aye-Aye’s ears are so sensitive that it can tell if there is a grub hole hidden beneath the surface of the wood. Not only can the Aye-Aye sense a grub hole an inch within the wood, it can even tell if there is a grub on the hole. When the Aye-Aye senses a grub, it chews into the wood with forward curving, incisor teeth. However, the Aye-Aye doesn’t have to worry about wearing its teeth down chewing on the tough wood. Its special incisor teeth are unique among primates. They continue to grow throughout the Aye-Aye’s life, just like a rodent’s teeth. Once down to the grub, it uses its elongated middle finger to fish the grub out for lunch. Researchers have noted that the Aye-Aye fills the same niche as the woodpecker in an environment where there are no woodpeckers.

The Aye-Aye has clearly been specially designed with unique features so that it can make its living in a niche that is unfilled in its own environment. Our Creator God not only made the earth to be inhabited, He designed His creatures to make a living within it.

I thank You, dear Father, for the unique richness of Your creation. Amen.

Author: Paul A. Bartz

Ref: Science Frontiers, pp. 136-137, “The Aye-Aye, A Percussive Forager.” Photo: Wild Aye-Aye. Courtesy of nomis-simon. (CC BY 2.0)