A rare creature, persecuted and hunted to near-extinction in its native Madagascar, has been born born at Bristol Zoo. Two-month-old Raz is only the second aye aye to be born in Britain. The tiny mammal fits in the palm of his keeper's hand but will grow to be the world's biggest nocturnal primate. The aye aye is a type of lemur that looks like a cross between a mouse and bat and its unusual appearance has led local people in some regions to believe they are ill omens and kill them on sight. Four keepers are hand-rearing Raz by giving him two-hourly feeds round the clock.
His name is short for Razafindranriatsimaniry - a Malagasy name meaning "son of a Prince or noble man who envies nobody".
One of his keepers, Caroline Brown, said: "We made the decision to hand rear this infant in advance of his birth because his mother has not had much success rearing her babies." The picture above is of his brother Kintana who put in an appearance in April 2005 and was only the second ever Aye Aye bred in captivity.
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