Colton may be the next Bachelor, but it’s Tonks who is stealing hearts.
The female aye-aye was recently born at the Denver Zoo. According to the facility, Tonks is one of only 24 aye-ayes residing in U.S. zoos right now.
Aye-ayes are elusive, nocturnal lemurs who are close to impossible to spot in the wild. Sadly, part of the reason these primates can be hard to find is because the animals are endangered in their native home of Madagascar.
Tonks’ birth is a silver lining to conservationists in their fight to protect this species. The yellow-eyed, coarse-haired, hook-handed sweetheart was born to mom Bellatrix and dad Smeagol.
The family is doing well now, but there was a little trouble to start.
“We noticed that Bellatrix wasn’t showing typical mothering behaviors, so we decided to step in to give Tonks some supportive care,” Denver Zoo’s lead primate keeper, Becky Sturges, said in a statement. “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.”
Tonks will keep bonding with her parents in her nest box, likely not exploring her exhibit until she is a few months old. So don’t expect to see this tiny aye-aye quite yet, even if you squint.