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The time is now
Lemurs are the most endangered mammals on Earth
about
Duke Lemur Center
Founded in 1966 on the campus of Duke University in Durham, NC, the Duke Lemur Center is a world leader in the study, care, and protection of lemurs—Earth’s most threatened group of mammals.
With more than 200 animals across 13 species, the DLC houses the world’s most diverse population of lemurs outside their native Madagascar.
Our Mission
To advance science, scholarship, and biological conservation through non-invasive research, community-based conservation, and public outreach and education.
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🤩 THIS SUNDAY 🤩
Good news: we have the weather and staffing to run an off-season General Tour this Sunday 11/24! Like our summer General Tours, this tour is an open house format, and guests can arrive any time before 11:30am to walk around and see the lemurs. Because the lemurs' housing needs may mildly affect their visibility to guests, we are offering a discounted off-season rate of $15 per person for ages 13+ and $12 per person for ages 3-12 (children 2 and under are free) 🥳
Tickets MUST be purchased in advance to attend! Tickets and information are available on our website at lemur.duke.edu/GT 🎟
📸: David Haring ... See MoreSee Less
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
He may be almost three years old, but Coquerel's sifaka Silas is still just as adorable as when he was a baby 😜
Silas and his family enjoyed some fresh sweetgum leaves last week, courtesy of volunteer photographer David Haring. This sweet boy is a staff favorite, as are parents Rupert (photo 3) and Gisela (photo 4), and is the grandson of Jovian aka Zoboomafoo. Do you think he looks more like mom or dad? 🤔
Of course, since it's #ThrowbackThursday, we couldn't miss the opportunity to add a precious #tbt photo of Silas at the end 💙
📸: David Haring ... See MoreSee Less
2 CommentsComment on Facebook
Silas is cute as can be
Just beautiful
Happy Wednesday from mongoose lemur Rico 🧡
You can tell that this handsome seven-year-old is a male thanks to his orange beard—female mongoose lemurs have a white beard. Rico has participated in a wide variety of tours with guests over the past few years. In 2022, visitors saw Rico and his breeding partner, Carolina, free-ranging in one of our forest enclosures on Walking with Lemurs tours. In 2023, Rico and Carolina spent the summer on our General Tour path. This year, the mongoose lemur pair participate in our Wild Workshops, interacting eagerly with guest-made enrichment 😋
Some of our residents are a little more shy around visitors, so we take that into account with our housing arrangements to keep our introverted lemurs in more private areas. Luckily, Rico is both handsome AND outgoing, making him popular with guests and staff members alike 🤗
Interested in visiting our facility? Make sure you book tickets beforehand—a tour is required to see the lemurs. Most of our tours are available May-September, but we have a few off-season offerings, like our Behind the Scenes tours and Wild Workshops. Schedule your visit through our website at lemur.duke.edu/onsite-tours ✨
📸: Sara Nicholson ... See MoreSee Less
4 CommentsComment on Facebook
Rico is handsome.🤎
Handsome guy!
Rico is handsome
No one misses the summer sunshine more than black-and-white ruffed lemur Sunshine ☀️
Four-year-old Sunshine spent this past summer free-ranging in one of our forest enclosures with mom Halley, stepdad Bruno, and siblings Orbit, Sputnik, Kepler, and Spitzer. With such a big family, tail shaves were crucial in helping tell the lemurs apart! These shaves are harmless haircuts, like you see on Sunshine in the first photo. One or two shaves in different locations on the tail (tip, mid, or base) allow us to identify individuals, even when they climb to the tippy tops of the tallest trees 🌲
You can stay up-to-date on Sunshine and her family by symbolically adopting her mom, Halley! Learn more at lemur.duke.edu/adopt ✨
📸: Sara Nicholson (1-4); Aditya Baliga (5) ... See MoreSee Less
2 CommentsComment on Facebook
They are so beautiful
Awww. They are beautiful.
There's no better cure for the Mondays than adorable portraits of old man Poe 😝
Aye-aye Poe, the oldest resident in our colony, will be turning 38 years old next month! There are a couple features that hint at Poe's age—the spots in his ears, his slightly cloudy eyes, and his tongue blep. While lemurs (and other animals) of all ages can sport a blep from time to time, you see the tongues of older animals peeking out more frequently because they've often lost teeth over the years. With only three teeth remaining, Poe doesn't have much of a barrier to hold his tongue in place, creating his signature sweet expression 🥰
📸: David Haring ... See MoreSee Less
13 CommentsComment on Facebook
What a sweet boy.❤ Is he still able to share his enclosure with other residents that are compatible? I miss seeing him and the other lemurs, but I hope to be back next year.
Such a special guy!
Oh Poe, what a handsome and dignified gent you are🩷😘🩷
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The best part of autumn at the Duke Lemur Center is watching the lemurs explore their changing surroundings 😍
Lemurs are incredibly curious animals! It's one of the many reasons why providing our residents with daily enrichment is so crucial to their wellbeing. Like us, lemurs are primates, meaning they have relatively large brains and are pretty smart. Whether they're solving puzzles for snacks or investigating fallen leaves, lemurs thrive on mental stimulation, and our staff works hard to ensure that our primates never get bored 🧩
Scroll to the end to see Gertrude's reaction after a wasp decided to explore HER in return!
📸: Sara Nicholson ... See MoreSee Less
6 CommentsComment on Facebook
They're so photogenic! Great pics!!
Team Sifaka! 🐝
Love Lemurs, thanks for the beautiful pictures.
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Happy #FossilFriday from the largest and most diverse collection of primate fossils in North America 💀
➡️ researchblog.duke.edu/2024/11/07/come-meet-some-of-your-very-oldest-relatives-right-here-in-durham/
Duke student Sophie Cox, who visited the most recent open house at our Duke Lemur Center Museum of Natural History (DLCMNH), was inspired by her experience with our fossils and the people who study them. She wrote a phenomenal blog post about her visit, which was featured on Duke's Research Blog and includes quotes from DLCMNH Curator Matt Borths and Education Programs Manager Megan McGrath. Don't just take our word for it—check out the article at the link above, and come see the collection in person at our next FREE open house on Saturday, 11/23 from 1-4pm 🤗
📸: Sophie Cox ... See MoreSee Less
1 CommentComment on Facebook
Cool.
🤩 THIS WEEKEND 🤩
Good news: we have the weather and staffing to run an off-season General Tour this Sunday 11/17! Like our summer General Tours, this tour is an open house format, and guests can arrive any time before 11:30am to walk around and see the lemurs. Because the lemurs' housing needs may mildly affect their visibility to guests, we are offering a discounted off-season rate of $15 per person for ages 18+ and $12 per person for ages 3-17 (children 2 and under are free) 🥳
We are also able to run off-season Walking with Lemurs tours this Monday (11/18)! Tickets are limited, so make sure to grab them before they sell out. Just like during the summer, our Walking with Lemurs tours are $75 per person and open to guests ages 10+ 🤗
Tickets MUST be purchased in advance to attend! Tickets and information are available on our website at lemur.duke.edu/GT for the General Tour and lemur.duke.edu/wwl for the Walking with Lemurs tour 🎟
📸: David Haring; Sara Nicholson ... See MoreSee Less
2 CommentsComment on Facebook
I hope you have another if we are lucky later in the week. I have family visiting & they would love to go (as would I).
Awesome.
Happy International Day of Zoo and Aquarium Educators to our amazing education team! 💙
If you've taken a tour of the Duke Lemur Center or had an educator visit your classroom for an outreach program, you've interacted with our fantastic staff members, seasonal educators, and volunteer docents. All of our educators love sharing their passion for lemurs and conservation with visitors of all ages. In addition to spreading awareness of these incredible creatures, all of the money from ticket sales and gift shop purchases goes directly back into the care and conservation of lemurs, both here and in Madagascar, so our educators are crucial in helping us preserve the most endangered group of mammals on the planet 🌎
To learn more about our tours and schedule your visit, go to lemur.duke.edu/onsite-tours ✨
📸: Abby Flyer, Gene X, Sara Nicholson ... See MoreSee Less
2 CommentsComment on Facebook
Thank you Duke Lemur Center educators for your dedication and all the hard work you put in that’s seen and unseen. I see you and I’m grateful for you. You have the most important job in the world. Teaching. Bless you 💚
They are all so wonderful!!
Looking for a gift for hard-to-shop-for friends and family? Our Adopt a Lemur program has got you covered! 🎁
➡️ lemur.duke.edu/adopt
For a limited time, receive a special holiday package with your symbolic adoption of a black-and-white ruffed lemur! The holiday package includes a BRAND NEW black-and-white ruffed lemur plush, as well as a wooden ornament, a copy of the 2024 edition of our official DLC Magazine, and a customized adoption packet introducing your recipient to Halley, their symbolic adoptee. Updates on Halley's life will be emailed quarterly, so your gift will last all year long 🤗
Your adoption fee includes a donation to support the lemurs of the DLC and our conservation programs in Madagascar. A win-win!
You can learn more about our special holiday package at lemur.duke.edu/adopt 🎉
📸: Sara Nicholson ... See MoreSee Less
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