Posted on 09/19/2009 11:11:32 AM PDT by JoeProBono
The bizarre, wondrous creature known as the aye-aye is a rare resident of Madagascar, a nation with among the greatest biodiversity in the world. There are countless animals there that simply can't be found anywhere else on the planet. Unfortunately, a recent military coup overthrew Madagascar's government, and ever since, criminals have been plundering and butchering the country's wildlife at a disastrous rate.
As for the aye-aye, which naturalist Stephen Fry says looks like someone tried to "turn a bat into a cat," but I think looks more like a teddy bear mixed with a mad scientist--it stands to be wiped out by this illicit trade.
(Excerpt) Read more at treehugger.com ...
Madagascar is 7% Muslim, 40% Christian and the rest "pagan."
It also is not really African. The majority of the population, including the dominant ethnies, came from what is now Indonesia 1500 to 2000 years ago.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.