Title: Researchers’ Affection and Respect For Aye-Ayes
General Information about Item:
- Language: English
- Country: United States
Informant Data:
- Sam Gochman is an ‘18 at Dartmouth who has done research with aye-ayes. He has collaborated on an aye aye research project with another informant, Nate Dominy.
- Nate Dominy is a Dartmouth professor who has researched several different aspects of aye-aye anatomy and behavior.
Contextual Data:
- Social Context:
This interview was conducted at a table at Novack on 2/16/18 with all three group members present, taking notes, and asking questions.
Sam first heard of aye-ayes when he took ANTH20 (Primate Evolution and Ecology) as a freshman. This class was taught by another one of our informants, Professor Nate Dominy. Sam quickly became intrigued by aye-ayes and desired to study them. He stated that in general the scholarly community shares his beliefs, and that it is evident in the way academics interact with the aye-ayes; they are beloved.
- Cultural Context:
This perspective is from an American biological anthropologist and represents the larger, western academic community. These are researchers who have a lot of in person contact with aye-ayes. Their positive view of aye-ayes is generally juxtaposed by their understanding of the Malagasy people’s relationship with aye-ayes. The aye-ayes’ idiosyncrasies enamor them to scholars. One informant, Professor Nate Dominy, said it best: “I think the exceptions to the pattern are often what draw [our] attention.”
Item:
Sam worked with aye-ayes for three weeks at the Duke Lemur Center. He perceives aye-ayes to be very curious and intelligent. He and other researchers at the Lemur Center are affectionate towards the aye-ayes. The workers at the Lemur Center treated with them with affection, as if the aye-ayes are “children.” They treated the lemurs as individuals with different personalities and referred to them by name — Mortitia and Merlin. He said that interacting with aye-ayes “humanizes” them. Rather than viewing them as test subjects, researchers “revere and respect” them, viewing the aye-ayes as research partners. Below is a passage that demonstrates the scope of researchers’ respect and reverence for aye-ayes.
“You don’t show affection to test [subjects], whether they’re living or not. But [aye-ayes are] very intelligent animals, and so it’s easy to do that. The people who work there talk to them like people. There’s a kitchen … They have interns just to cook for them, and they get treated extremely well. […] And so, they’re very well taken care of and people definitely treat them like more than pets. They’re treated as colleagues, actually. Well, they’re more like children, actually.”
Similarly, Professor Dominy told us that the Duke Lemur Center identifies specific aye-ayes for specific experiments. They value each aye-aye’s unique personality and proclivity for participating in certain experiments. Below is the specific anecdote Professor Dominy shared.
“Some animals are extremely willing to participate. Others… are more reluctant.They all have personalities and charms associated with them. So if you were to write to the Duke Lemur Center and say, I would like to this particular research project. They’ll tell you, “Okay, you’ve got to work with Warlock, Wizard.” But you’ve got to work with particular individuals, and they will do it.”
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Collectors’ Comments:
Here we see Sam in close contact with an aye-aye. He is not scared, and even feels comfortable in the presence of this primate. The aye-aye is not bothered by his proximity, either. This image embodies the ease with which scholars work with aye-ayes and demonstrates what Sam referred to as their near research partner relationship.
Collectors’ Names:
Keira Byno, Anne Medina, Savannah Liu
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