Cindy Morrett, age 16, of Chariton, Iowa, for her question:

IS THE AYE AYE IN DANGER OF EXTINCTION?

The aye aye's name makes frequent guest appearances in crossword puzzles. But the strange little animal himself is seldom seen, and a decade ago, sad to say, his famous name appeared on the list of endangered species. Prompt steps were taken to protect him and now, thank goodness, he seems to have a fair chance of surviving.

The native home of the aye aye is the island of Madagascar, where his range is limited to the bordering jungles of the east and northwest. He is seldom seen for he sleeps by day and at night prowls quietly through the forests, the mangrove trees and bamboo thickets. For reasons of their own, the strange Malagasy people view their native aye aye with spooky alarm, and for a long time his numbers were gradually dwindling.

In 1966, a population count revealed that perhaps less than a dozen aye ayes still lived on the entire island of Madagascar  their only native home on earth.  The known survivers were transferred promptly to a small island called Noss Mangabe, just off the northeast shore of Madagascar.

Fortunately the little animals made themselves at home in their protected sanctuary and seem to be prospering. Most likely they have been rescued from extinction. However, any population increase will be very slow, for the female aye aye bears only one baby each year.

The aye aye is a cat size tree dweller with longish legs, a long bushy tail and very clever hands. His thick, hairy coat is brownish black, set off by a white face and white bib. He has large misty eyes, suitable for night vision, and huge ears, suitable for hearing grubs tunneling quietly through the tree trunks.

The Malagasy fear that departed spirits live in this harmless little creature and that one touch of his dainty paw brings death to the living. This, of course, is childish nonsense, the sort of superstitious nonsense that almost led to the extinction of one of nature's most remarkable animals.

The aye aye was discovered in 1780  and baffled the world of science. of science. He was classed as a rodent, then as a lemur. He now is known to be a primate of the monkey clan. Now classed in a family all his own, he is thought to resemble the long extinct ancestors of the advanced primate clan.