The aye-aye and I : a rescue mission in Madagascar

'In the gloom it came along the branches towards me, its round, hypnotic eyes blazing, its spoon-like ears turning to and fro independently like radar dishes . . . it was Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky come to life . . . one of the most incredible creatures I had ever been privileged to meet.' The fourth largest island in the world, Madagascar is home to woodlice the size of golf balls, moths the size of Regency fans and the Aye-Aye, a type of lemur held by local superstion to be an omen of death. But when Gerald Durrell visited the island, the destruction of the forests meant that the Aye-Aye and many other creatures were in danger of extinction. Told with his unique sense of humour and inimitable charm, Gerald Durrell's The Aye Aye and I is the final adventure from one Britain's best loved conservationists. Seeing that the aye-aye was threatened with extinction in its native Madagascar, Gerald Durrell and his wife, Lee, led an expedition to the island to bring pairs of the species into captivity at their Jersey zoo