The time is now

Duke Lemur Center

19 hours ago

WINTER WEATHER is on the way! ❄️ Due to the forecast of snow, the tour department and gift shop will be closed until 12:00 noon on Friday, February 21st. Our lemurs are safely tucked inside their heated indoor enclosures, with staff staying onsite to ensure everyone stays warm and well-fed ❄️ Happy snow day, y'all! Have fun and stay safe! ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center is at Duke Lemur Center.

24 hours ago

"Just poopin'. You know how I be." 💩 A sight like this will light up the eyes of any lemur researcher! Find out what all the stink is about with our new Wild Workshop -- LEMURS, SCIENCE, & POOP -- highlighting how lemur poop shapes everything from animal care to non-invasive research! Sign up soon: lemur.duke.edu/registration-lemurs-science-and-poop/

Photo by DLC research scientist Lydia Greene. Quote by Michael Scott on The Office, season six 🤣 ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center is at Duke Lemur Center.

2 days ago

It's nap time for this trio of geezer lemurs! 31.7-year-old red-bellied lemur Cheyenne, 31.7-year-old ring-tailed lemur Chloris, and junior partner 29.8-year-old mongoose lemur Julio share a cozy basket indoors on a rainy day afternoon <3 With 93.2 years of living between the three, there is a lot of lemur lore resting in this basket!

Big thanks to David Haring for the caption and photo! ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center is at Duke Lemur Center.

4 days ago

Here at the DLC, last week marked the end of our fat-tailed dwarf lemurs' hibernation season! On Friday, the little lemurs received post-torpor wellness exams by DLC veterinarian Dr. Laura Ellsaesser. Here, Dr. Laura listens to Tottenham's heartbeat 💕

When hibernating, a dwarf lemur naturally reduces its body temperature to match the temperature of the surrounding environment. The lemur also naturally reduces its heartbeat to a mere 8-30 beats per minute. Now that she’s warm and fully active, Tot’s heartbeat is back up to ~200 beats per minute, almost too fast for Dr. Laura to count!

While Tot was in hand with our vets, we collected important samples for our non-invasive research, like feces and cheek swabs. These samples will help us study her gut microbiota and metabolism, as well as any genetic changes, like potential telomere elongation, that might have occurred while she hibernated. Unlocking the mechanisms of hibernation in these lemurs could be the key to inducing torpor in humans, allowing for better medical care and even space travel! 🚀

Learn more about dwarf lemur hibernation here: lemur.duke.edu/discover/meet-the-lemurs/fat-tailed-dwarf-lemur/.

Big thanks to DLC research scientist Lydia Greene for the great photo and caption! ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

7 days ago

If you don't have a Valentine to buy for, may we suggest pampering our lovely lemurs instead? 🥰 We have plenty of cute, fun lemur-appropriate presents on our amazon wishlist! www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/373AW0NFW38GY/ref=nav_wishlist_lists_1 ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

7 days ago

For this #FossilFriday #ValentinesDay if you're still scrambling to find a way to tell your favorites how much they mean to you, might we suggest you tell them by comparing your affection to an extinct hippo-like elephant relative from Egypt?

Moeritheirum means "The Beast from Lake Moeris." Lake Moeris was the Greek name for Birket Qarun, a lake southwest of Cairo. The lake is an oasis on the eastern edge of the Sahara. In the sand and rocks around the lake is evidence of the lush, swampy ecosystem that flourished along the then northern coast of Africa 35 million years ago. Moeritherium was wallowing in the shallows, while lemur-like and monkey-like primates scrambled through the trees.

Researchers working with the fossil collection at the Duke Lemur Center used the chemical composition of Moeritherium's teeth to demonstrate the early elephant relative spent a lot of time in the water. This suggests elephants may have originated from a semi-aquatic ancestor. That's not a totally crazy idea, because one of the closest living relatives of elephants are manatees! Here's the paper: www.pnas.org/content/105/15/5786.short ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

7 days ago

It doesn't get better than this aye-aye valentine from the DLC's new Fossil Preparator, Karie Whitman! 💕 ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

1 week ago

Who’s excited for Valentine’s Day TOMORROW?! 🥰 Celebrate by sending a very lemur-y valentine that melts hearts AND helps lemurs! Only $25 -- lemur.duke.edu/valentine

Or, symbolically adopt a lemur for $50 or more AND we’ll send the link to our LEMURS + ROSES video on the 14th, too! lemur.duke.edu/adopt

We’ve already raised nearly $5,000, and hope to raise at least $8,600 with this promotion – that’s the average cost to care for a lemur here at the DLC for a full year. THANK YOU for loving lemurs! ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

1 week ago

Looking for something fun to do with your sweetheart on V-Day weekend? 💕 We have three spaces still available for our LOVE & LEMURS Wild Workshop on Sunday, 2/16! Come have some wine and learn alllll the dirty (smelly) little secrets of lemur reproduction! Sign up soon: lemur.duke.edu/registration-love-and-lemurs

(If you can't make it on Sunday, we have a handful of spots remaining on 2/23, too! More details via the link above.) ... See MoreSee Less