The ayes used their fingers to pick up their nose.
There was a chance encounter with a lemur that picked its nose.
An aye-aye was filmed by Prof Anne-Claire Fabre from the University of Bern, and it was not just any animal.
She asked where the finger was going.
Professor Fabre and her colleagues questioned the evolutionary origins of the habit after a meeting at Duke Lemur Center.
There are only a few ay-ayes left in the world. They are famous for their long fingers, which they use to catch grubs.
When she looked at the length of its head, she wondered where it was going. I wondered if it was inserted into its brain. It was very strange and hard to comprehend.
Prof Fabre conducted a 3D analysis of the aye-aye's head to reconstruct the nose picking.
She said that it went into the throat and into the mouth.
Prof Fabre searched for evidence of other animals picking their noses. The team discovered 12 examples of primate caught in the nose-picking act.
Prof Fabre is the Curator of mammals at the Museum of Natural History in Bern and he pointed out that there are very few studies that aim to understand why an animal might pick their nose.
Prof Fabre believes that this behavior is under studied because it is seen as a bad habit. According to studies, the majority of humans pick their noses but are reluctant to admit it.
There are studies looking at the pros and cons of nosepicking. It has been pointed out that it spread harmfulbacteria. A study suggests that picking your nose and eating it may be good for your teeth.
A study suggested that the immune system could be helped by the mucus in the nose.
Prof Fabre believes that it is likely to have evolved for a reason.
She didn't know about its functional role. It could be a good thing.
Prof Fabre said that since so many animals seem to share this habit, we need to investigate it.
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