Baby animal alert: Denver Zoo welcomes extremely rare baby aye-aye

The Denver Zoo recently welcomed one of the rarest and hardest-to-see animals in the world — a baby aye-aye named Tonks. 

Tonks was born to mother Bellatrix and father Smeagol on Aug. 8, but it was a worrying few days for the young primate. 

As Harry Potter fans could expect from Bellatrix, she was not "showing typical mothering behaviors," lead primate keeper Becky Sturges said in a news release. 

"We decided to step in to give Tonks some supportive care," Sturges said. "We provided 24-hour care for the first week and had to teach Bellatrix how to nurse, but now she is nursing well and Tonks has gained a lot of weight. Now we’re just monitoring them to make sure things continue to go well.”

Aye-aye are extremely rare, with only 24 residing in seven zoos in the U.S. and an unknown number still in the wild. These nocturnal lemurs are native only to remote parts of Madagascar. 

Aye-aye are classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, according to the zoo. 

Many consider the aye-aye to be the strangest primates on Earth, the zoo stated. They have several distinctive features, including coarse dark hair, long bushy tails, rodent-like teeth, piercing eyes and skeletal hands with extra-long middle fingers and hooked claws. 

Zoo visitors wanting to get a glimpse of this rare lemur will likely have to wait a few more months. Tonks is currently in the aye-aye exhibit in Emerald Forest with her parents but will likely remain in her nest box for at least a few more months, until she's ready to explore on her own. 

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