Walking with Lemurs tours are back, and they’re better than ever! If you’d like to reserve your Walking with Lemurs tour today, just CLICK HERE to see full details and register.
One of the hallmarks of the DLC is our Natural Habitat Enclosures (NHEs), where for decades, lemurs have foraged, played, and snoozed in large patches of Duke Forest. No need to travel thousands of miles to Madagascar—researchers and visitors have the opportunity to observe the lemurs leaping and socializing with each other in a natural setting right here in North Carolina! When a storm last fall downed fence lines and forced the temporary closure of the NHEs, the DLC’s animal care team seized the unexpected opportunity to revamp our free-ranging program for the first time in decades. The new free-ranging model encourages even more natural behavior! It also reduces interference from local wildlife by switching up the feeding schedule.
So, when the lemurs leapt back into their forest habitats in May 2024, they did so in a whole new style—and we would love to share that with you! Guests on our revamped Walking with Lemurs tours can see a wide range of natural behaviors: ring-tailed lemurs snuggling and grooming each other on the forest floor, Coquerel’s sifakas snacking on leaves in the trees, red ruffed lemurs snoozing in the shade!
Don’t just take our word for it: Check out this blog post from a guest about his Walking with Lemurs tour experience!
It’s one thing to coordinate amongst the humans working in different departments to make this new free-ranging plan a reality, but communicating the new plan to the lemurs? That took a bit more work. DLC Curator of Behavioral Management and Welfare Meg Dye organized a detailed training plan to prepare the lemurs for their new free-ranging routines. Teams of helpers from Animal Care to Education joined Meg in a rigorous schedule of training sessions, working together to teach the lemurs that when they heard the ring of a bell, they would receive their favorite treats in their indoor habitats. Once the forest habitats were ready for the lemurs once again, the diligent work over the winter months paid off. The free-ranging lemurs come running when they hear their dinner bell ringing every afternoon.
Primate technicians now start their day by releasing eager lemurs into their forest habitats. The lemurs enjoy foraging, playing, and exploring all morning long, with maybe a few naps in the early afternoon sun. Then, just as the work day ends for the primate technicians, the lemurs are recalled back into their building enclosures for the evening, with their favorite treats and a full meal of primate chow, veggies, and fruit awaiting them.
