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Duke Lemur Center

1 day ago

Happy #tongueouttuesday from ring-tailed lemur Stewart 😝

This twelve-year-old father of four lives with breeding partner Alena, sons Atticus, Mr. Popper, and Jasper, and infant daughter Cirilla. His own father, the esteemed Randy, is the ring-tailed lemur representative of our Adopt a Lemur program! Usually, only the dominant female in a group will need to wear a radio tracking collar when the troop free-ranges, as most members will remain in close proximity to the matriarch. Stewart, however, likes to wander off and enjoys frequent alone time, taking a quiet nap away from his rambunctious kids, so he also wears a radio collar in case our husbandry staff need to track him down 💛

📸: Sara Nicholson ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

2 days ago

Happy #MadagascarMonday! Today's update is about dried fruit and diversifying incomes 🍌

The New Generation School Garden is pursuing new ventures for financial sustainability! We created drying racks to produce dried fruits and transform root crops into flour, and we’re making chips and cooking oil from local produce. This will allow the farmers in our network to conserve their produce and earn a higher income from their farms through marketing unique products 🧑‍🌾

To learn more about our conservation projects, visit lemur.duke.edu/conservation or keep an eye out for the next #MadagascarMonday update! 💚 ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

3 days ago

Can you tell male and female blue-eyed black lemur infants apart? 🤔

Blue-eyed black lemurs demonstrate perhaps the starkest sexual dichromatism in the lemur world, with males sporting jet-black fur and females ranging in color from orange to russet, but they're not born that way! Males and females are both born in orange tones so that they blend in with mom's fur while clinging to her belly for the first few months of their lives. This helps them camouflage and avoid being spotted by predators as easy prey. Males will start to transition from orange to black fur around two months old. One of these infants is female Ranomasina and the other is male Hamill, both of whom were born in 2018, and it's almost impossible to tell who's who 🖤🧡

📸: David Haring ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

4 days ago

Now vs then photos of first-time mouse lemur moms Mushmelon and Belladonna 🥰

We had a request after our most recent gray mouse lemur birth announcement for photos of lovely momma Mushmelon, and we're more than happy to share! To celebrate their first times as successful moms, we pulled some baby pics from our archives of Mushmelon (1,2) and Belladonna (3,4) to compare with their adult portraits. For size reference, Baby Mushmelon is inside of a dixie cup, and Baby Belladonna is clinging to a veterinarian's finger 🥹

📸: David Haring (1,2,3); Jodi S. (4) ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

5 days ago

Happy 10th birthday to the stunning Velona! 🧡

This gorgeous blue-eyed black lemur female was born at Parc Ivoloina, a nonprofit nature center in Madagascar, and transferred to the DLC with breeding partner Mangamaso in 2017 as part of our conservation breeding program. Her name (pronounced vay-loo-nah) means "living" or "alive" in Malagasy. Last fall, after having successfully raised two daughters, Velona moved into a mixed-species non-breeding companion pair with crowned lemur Siwa to give her a break from motherhood. While the duo got off to a rocky start, they quickly got to know one another through a series of introductions and mutual grooming sessions. Now, Velona and Siwa live together on our summer tour path and can often be spotted cuddling, lounging, or grooming together. Be sure to wish a happy birthday to this lovely lady if you have tickets for tonight's general tour! ☺️

📸: David Haring ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

1 week ago

Twins, twins, twins! We have SIX new tiny residents to announce 💕

Three more of our female gray mouse lemurs had healthy sets of twins! One-year-old Belladonna, a first-time mom, gave birth to twin girls Rhubarb and Taro. Ten-year-old Mushmelon, also a first-time mom, welcomed daughter Lychee and son Rambutan. And finally, experienced mom Merriweather brought the 2024 baby season to a close with twin daughters Beautyberry and Tea Olive. So many teeny residents to add to our colony this #TinyTwinTuesday! 😍

➡️ Read more at lemur.duke.edu/mousetwins24 ✨

Did you know that Belladonna is the gray mouse lemur representative for our Adopt a Lemur program? You can support Belladonna, Rhubarb, and Taro by symbolically adopting this first-time mom, and you’ll receive quarterly updates with photos and information on the infants’ development. Belladonna’s adopters also got early access to the news about the babies in their August update! 😱

➡️ Show your support now at lemur.duke.edu/adopt 💖 ... See MoreSee Less