DLC Blog
- For the past four years our research team has investigated lemur cognitive abilities. Adapted to unique niches in Madagascar, lemur species differ considerably in sociality, foraging patterns, and other characteristics ...
- Critically endangered. Top 25 Most Endangered Primates list 3 times in a row. Habitat reduced by more than 80% within 20-25 years. Very high levels of exploitation from hunting and capture as pets. One ...
- Prosimian Personalities Foster In this series, we’ll help you get to know the animals at the Lemur Center just as well as the keepers that care for them. You can learn a ...
- The DLC SAVA Conservation initiative is working through a variety of activities with local communities to protect forests and lemurs in Madagascar. Photographer and conservationist Louise Jasper has helped us ...
- Today, Febraury 11, 2013, is International Darwin Day – a day to highlight the contribution to science made by Charles Darwin (and his finches). I thought it would be nice ...
- Join the staff of the Duke Lemur Center (DLC) in welcoming our newest Coquerel’s sifaka – Beatrice of Swabia (Beatrice for short). Born December 19, 2012, Beatrice weighed 107 grams ...
New video series from the Kronos Quartet and Songs for Unusual Creatures
The latest installment from the Unusual Creatures project hit the Internet yesterday with the launch of a new video series exploring unusual creatures and the music they inspire. For the ...- Happy Holidays to all! The staff and lemurs at the Duke Lemur Center would like to say thank you for all of your support this past year. We hope you ...
- On December 18, 2012, 8PM EST, Dr. Erik Patel, DLC SAVA Conservation Director, will take viewers on an incredible trek through the dense, humid rainforests of Madagascar in search of ...
- by Dr. Gregg Gunnell, Director of the Division of Fossil Primates at the Duke Lemur Center The Division of Fossil Primates (DFP) at the Duke Lemur Center (DLC) is changing but ...
- by Phoebe Dodge, 5th grader at the Duke School The Duke Lemur Center is a very fascinating place because it has lots of lemurs ...
- – Josh Leffler, 5th grade Duke School student As a fifth grader at Duke School in Durham, my class has been working closely with ...
- by Freda Cameron – writer, traveler, blogger, volunteer and supporter of the DLC. Follow her @fredacameron. Excitement! That’s what I felt when Anne Yoder, Director of the Duke Lemur Center told ...
- Evolution of lemur hibernation – Dr. Marina Blanco, Post-Doctoral Associate Hibernation Research Project, Duke Lemur Center I recently joined the Duke Lemur Center to participate in the multidisciplinary Hibernation research project. ...
- The United Nation’s Convention on Biological Diversity COP11 released their list of the world’s most endangered primates this week. The list highlights the top 25 primate species facing the direst ...
- Faye Chiu, copy editor for Bon Appétit Magazine, visited the Duke Lemur Center last week with her husband on a little trip south from New York City. Everyone knows Durham ...
- Conservationists have successfully propagated around 200 rare seedlings from one of Madagascar’s critically endangered trees. Pentachlaena betamponensis is only known to exist in one location, Betampona Nature Reserve, an oasis ...
- In this series, we’ll help you get to know the animals at the lemur center just as well as the keepers that care for them. You can learn a little ...
- The Duke Lemur Center is celebrating Loris Awareness Week! The Little Fireface Project started Loris Awareness Week this year, running September 16-22, to highlight these amazing little primates and their ...
- The Duke Lemur Center’s new ring-tailed lemur mascot finally has a name! We asked, and you voted to call this 6-foot tall lemur Maky (pronounced mah-key). Marsha Green at Duke ...
- August 12, 2012 I am now sitting at my hotel in Antananarivo for my last night in Madagascar. I can’t believe I have been here for 3 months, 10 weeks of ...
- August 4, 2012 After spending a couple of days in Sambava buying food and supplies for our next survey mission we headed back out to the rainforest. Though still within Marojejy ...
- August 4, 2012 For all of my work this summer, I worked with a student from the University of Antananarivo, Madagascar. I asked him to write a short blog to tell ...
Elementary Students Raise Money, Adopt Lemurs and Save the World
The sponsors of the Mascoutah Elementary School Environmental Club guest blogged about their efforts to learn about and act on environmental issues in their community and abroad – like Madagascar! ...Lemurs Are The Most Threatened Mammals In The World: IUCN Red-List Workshop 2012
by DLC Director, Dr. Anne Yoder, and Conservation Coordinator, Charlie Welch Last week, 60 of Madagascar’s leading lemur conservationists and researchers gathered in the capital of Antananarivo to reevaluate the IUCN ...Lemurs Are The Most Threatened Mammals In The World: IUCN Red-List Workshop 2012
Last week, 60 of Madagascar’s leading lemur conservationists and researchers gathered in Antananarivo (the capital) to reevaluate the IUCN Red-List conservation statuses of each lemur species. It had been seven ...- This post is from GreenMonster.org on July 17. Desiree highlighted lemurs for the endangered species of the week after a visit to the Duke Lemur Center. Thanks Desiree! I like to ...
Aye-Ayes Bring Musical Inspiration to Hearst and Kronos Quartet
Michael Hearst is a composer, instrumentalist, and writer and he recently released a new album entitled Songs for Unusual Creatures. Taking inspiration from some of the world’s strange and endangered ...- Jennifer Moore is a graduate student at the Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment and tour guide at the Duke Lemur Center. She sent us this report on her ...
- One of the big projects that students do at Durham Academy is their 8th grade Independent Science Project. There are often a lot of interesting and fun topics, such as ...
- The first 73 hours after birth are the most critical for a baby lemur, and during this period, the baby is weighed every day to ensure that it is growing ...
- I’ve been planning for months and months, and the day is finally arriving. I’m leaving tomorrow to spend my summer in Madagascar! I can’t believe I’m finally saying that, but ...
- Mongooose lemur infant born 9 April, male, dam is Maddie, sire is Paco. Sister is Carolina. Group to free range in one our forest enclosures this summer hopefully! Pygmy slow twins born ...
- AAZK Annual Rummage Sale Its about that time again where our AAZK (American Association of Zookeepers) is having a rummage sale. This year it will be held on May 5th, RAIN OR SHINE from ...
- A recently released conservation oriented film by the BBC, which features DLC’s own Dr. Erik Patel, has just won accolades at the International Wildlife Film Festival in Missoula, Montana! http://wildlifefilms.wordpress.com/ ...
- Aracus started getting into trouble as a youth, with a string of arrests, rehab, and finally a stint in lock-up. He never knew who his father was. While he was ...
- When does a lemur reach across the gap between branches and when does it leap? The answer may be related to the flexibility of its spine, says Duke graduate student ...
- Check out the link below leading to a great blog about one of Duke’s finest undergraduate students and lemur enthusiast, Joel Bray. http://sites.duke.edu/dukeresearch/2012/03/20/meet-joel-bray-lemur-enthusiast/
- Like most animals, lemurs compete with each other for scarce resources such as territory, food and reproductive mates. While sometimes this type of squabble is resolved by fighting, sharp teeth ...
- Here is a link to a BBC doumentary featuring the DLC’s, Erik Patel. This documentary is not available in the United Sates as of yet. We will keep everyone posted. Please watch ...
- Hello. My name is Anne, and I am addicted to mouse lemurs —- or perhaps I should say, to studying mouse lemurs, or maybe more specifically, to the genes of mouse lemurs. It ...
- Sifaka birth season is now officially over! In addition to the birth of Pia’s infant, Gisela, on 7 January (reported earlier in this blog), 13 year old Rupillia gave birth ...
- News Flash: Ardrey the aye aye’s infant, Elphaba is out of the nest! She was sighted outside and away from the nest for the first time last Saturday, 2/11 at the ...
- In celebration of Darwin Day (February 12th), I thought it appropriate to broach the topic of evolution – a unifying force for all primates, human and nonhuman alike. Here at ...
- We’re at the Duke Lemur Center, and we have lengths of dowel, duct tape, grape jelly and two bags of craisins. Guess what’s going to happen next? Some construction? A ...
- This week we sent out a shipment of 53 donated veterinary reference books, destined for the College of Veterinary Medicine of Madagascar, Antananarivo. The books will reinforce the new school’s ...
- Elphaba, the Duke Lemur Center’s most recent Aye-aye infant is now 57 days old and weighing in at 586g!
- Our thirteen year old Coquerel’s sifaka female, Pia, has became the first sifaka to deliver an infant this nascent 2012 birth season (a total of four sifaka females were pronounced ...
- “With great sadness, I write to announce an event that I have dreaded for many months now. Our beloved Romeo, the western hemisphere’s only diademed sifaka to be successfully housed in ...
- January 14, 2012 In just four days I leave for Madagascar where I’ll remain until August. The usual pre-trip mix of excitement and anxiety has set in. Four giant duffel bags ...
- Meet Mosi and Seshat our newest breeding pair of crowned lemurs (Eulemur coronatus)! Mosi is a 1.5 year old male who arrived at the DLC from the Indianapolis Zoo in ...
- January is not my favorite month. The holidays are over, and with them all those wonderful three and four day work weeks. It’s cold, dreary and dark outside. The holiday ...
- Hi! My name is Leah and I am a sophomore at Duke University studying Environmental Science and Policy and Evolutionary Anthropology and I am lucky enough to have been involved at ...
- Duke student, Brandon Semel’s adventure continues: Entry 9: Crocs and Blocks 22 July 2011 Now that all of the Earthwatch volunteers are here and set up in their tents, it’s time to ...
- Entry 8: Arovy ny Fosa! Duke student Brandon Semel continues to share his experiences doing research in Madagascar. Spotty internet connections delayed posts. 21 July 2011 Save the fosa! That’s what our principal investigators, ...
- More from Duke student, Brandon Semel reporting from Madagascar. Delays in reports are due to spotty internet access. Entry 7: To the Coast 20 July 2011 With nearly one hundred new birds, reptiles, and ...
- Share the Care for the Holidays….or any day! Are you always searching for that unique gift for your loved ones? Well we have your answer! Adopt a lemur and support ...
- Entry 6: Market Day 13 July 2011 It’s Wednesday morning and the streets of Andranafansika (the nearby town) are alive with the hustle and bustle of the market! Men in tiny little run-down ...
Madagascar – The number and diversity of snakes and birds is incredible!
Duke student Brandon Semel continues to share his experience in Madagascar. Due to spotty internet connections the entries were delayed: Entry 5: Finding My Feet 10 July 2011 We have now been in Ankarafantsika ...- Nov. 12, 2011 Duke student, Brandon Semel continues to share his experiences in Madagascascar from this past summer: Entry 4: From Wet to Dry 5 July 2011 After our brief experience in Madagascar’s humid rainforests, ...
- Duke student, Bandon Semel shares his blog diary from his trip to Madagascar. Spotty internet coverage prevented this being posted previously. Entry 3: Phantom Forest 3 July 2011 Nothing wakes you up like ...
- Duke student Brandon Semel kept a blog diary of his experience in Madagascar this summer. Spotty internet connections kept these from being posted until now: Entry 2: Arrival in Tana 1 July 2011 ...
Duke student, Brandon Semel shares his time in Madagascar studying fosas
Duke student, Brandon Semel is studying fosa in Madagascar. Internet connections are tentative at best where Brandon is working, but he is sending us records of his experience to share ...- October 24, 2011 by Niki Barnett, Education/Development Associate With the weather cooling off, theDukeLemurCenter’s “Walking with Lemurs” tours have ended for the season. However, new tours are available for this cooler weather! ...
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September 17, 2011 Do you ever wonder what would it be like to be surrounded by lemurs in the middle of a forest? Is the price of a plane ticket to ...Award winning non-invasive research at the Duke Lemur Center
September 9, 2011 Remember this picture? Lydia Greene wrote a blog entry (“Smells like a lemur”) earlier this summer about her work at the Duke Lemur Center. Well, that work on ...- August 29, 2011 Our tireless and fearless Primate Technicians kept all our lemurs safe and sound through Hurricane Irene. The lemurs were safe and snug inside. As soon as it was ...
- August 26, 2011 The Duke Lemur Center is watching the weather and plans are in place for whatever happens. As always, we plan to err on the side of safety and ...
- August 17, 2011 by Charlie Welch , Duke Lemur Center’s Conservation Manager August 15 was a very important and exciting day for us at the Duke Lemur Center. It was the day ...
- August 6, 2011 by Maggie Chu, Duke University student I don’t know if I could pinpoint what the saddest day of my life is, but I would say at least two of ...
- Join the NC Piedmont Chapter of the American Association of Zookeepers for a night of racing, food, and fun at Rush Hour Karting in Garner. This event, from 7pm till ...
- July 27, 2011 by Charlie Welch, Duke Lemur Center Conservation Manager Hard to believe that I had not been back to Madagascar in a year. For Andrea and Alena it was 4 ...
- July 22, 2011 by Maggie Chu, Duke University student I think it’s needless to say that working at the Duke Lemur Center has changed my life forever. When I was little I ...
- July11, 2011 by Lydia Greene, Duke ’11 Lemurs scent mark a lot. The pungent aroma of their enclosures was something I could hardly fail to notice when I began as an undergraduate ...
- July 9, 2011 Taken from Duke Lemur Center’s Live Animal Curator, Andrea Katz’s annual report Twin Nycticebus pygmaeus(pygmy lorises) were born in 2010, and a singleton in 2011, eliciting oohs and aahs ...
- June 30, 2011 by Britt Keith, Lead Primate Technician Lewis and Kelly are breezing through our 8 week summer intern program. Thanks to all who are participating. They are enjoying it and ...
- June 28, 2011 This is Cheyenne Caracal in his new habitat, looking through one of the shift gates that were recently donated by Duke Lemur Center. When we built our lovely new ...
- June27,2011 News from Charlie Welch, Duke Lemur Center’s Conservation Manager, who is currently in Madagascar Hi everyone, Things going well here in Madagascar, but has been very busy. The weather has ...
Duke Lemur Center’s Dr. Zehr presents “the Lazy Loris Award”
June 24, 2011 by Sarah Zehr, PhD, Research Manager at the Duke Lemur Center We had three pygmy slow loris births in 2010 and now have a total of 10 animals of ...- June 23, 2011 (If this interests you, and you find all the spots are filled, keep us in mind for next summer.) The Duke Lemur Center is currently sponsoring an internship program ...
Advantages of free-ranging – from the Lemur Center veterinarian
06/15/2011 by Cathy Williams, DVM The new animal housing buildings are full, summer is upon us, and many different species of lemurs are leaping, swinging, and foraging in the free range natural ...- One of the aye-aye births at the Duke Lemur Center set a record in the species for reproductive longevity. The dam was estimated to be 26 years old at conception. ...
- by David Haring, Registrar, DLC Photographer Amor, a black and white ruffed lemur is another one of those animals who has lived an amazingly interesting life at the Center. He was ...
- The following is the product of a Primate Technician sitting in the dark, observing the mating process of a roomful of mouse lemurs, charged with seeing that all the lemurs ...
- By Ben Soltoff, Duke ‘12 Voices crackle back and forth across the Duke Lemur Center as technicians radio one another about the upcoming VIP tour. In the kitchen, a few techs ...
“Bad boy” lemur makes good-Aracus, a ring-tailed lemur “wins” research award
The following is the 2nd of two tributes written by Duke Lemur Center’s Research Manager, Sarah Zehr, Ph.D. All research at the Duke Lemur Center is non-invasive. If the lemurs are ...- The following tribute was written by Duke Lemur Center’s Research Manager, Sarah Zehr, Ph.D. All research at the Duke Lemur Center is non-invasive. If the lemurs are even stressed by the ...
- By: Amanda Wilkins, Duke Lemur Center Garden Manager The Duke Lemur Center Vegetable Garden has come a long way from being a quick crayon sketch in December: we recently tested the ...
- In another behavioral study critical to understanding, and preserving lemurs, Digby and her students are analyzing how lemurs move in three dimensions throughout their habitat—not just scampering along the ground, ...
- Jane Goodall met with more than 170 area students at the Duke Lemur Center. Here are some student reactions: “It was amazing to see Jane Goodall, because she has done so ...
- Social skills have also been the hallmark of primates’ evolutionary success, and researchers at the Lemur Center have created clever experiments to measure how the animals interact with one another. ...
- by Dennis Meredith, Science Writer Brian Hare’s research into the evolution of primate intelligence exemplifies why the Lemur Center animals can yield such profound scientific insights. “The Lemur Center provides a ...
- by Dennis Meredith, Science Writer The Lemur Center is an unequalled refuge for lemurs, said Duke evolutionary anthropologist Brian Hare. “This is the ark of the lemurs. There is no other ...
- by Dennis Meredith, Science Writer The rare animals at the Duke Lemur Center are walking, climbing, leaping, scientific mysteries—from the elegant acrobatic sifakas, to the tiny saucer-eyed mouse lemurs, to the ...
- Bush babies are back at the Duke Lemur Center and we can’t wait to show them to the public! The new pair of thick-tailed greater bush babies, also known as ...
- Researchers at the Duke Lemur Center are interested in learning how lemurs think. Because lemurs are early primates, knowing how they think might give us clues about how human thought ...
- Cleaning Up By Andrew Taylor – a 4th grade student at the Duke School Wouldn’t you love to have a maid clean your room? Well that’s what the 5th graders did for ...
Erik Patel and a new Duke Lemur Center Conservation Initiative
As we have mentioned on the blog before, the Lemur Center (DLC) is in the process of starting up a new conservation initiative in northeastern Madagascar. Although we are in ...- If you have visited the Duke Lemur Center in the past, you know that in the winter the outdoor animal cages were covered with a heavy plastic and warm air ...
- Here is an idea for a perfect outing: first visit the Duke Lemur Center (Call 919.489.3364 x0 to set up a tour.) Then head to NOSH for a meal or ...
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