The time is now

Duke Lemur Center

2 days ago

Day 49 of #100lemurs with Rachel Hudson Illustration, and we're featuring not a lemur but a... FOSSA!

🦷 Where there are lemurs, there are lemur predators! The fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox) is the largest of the native carnivores in Madagascar, and lemurs make up half of its diet. This animal can get up to 12 kg (26 pounds) and is 1.8 m (6 feet) long, including its long, flexible tail.

🦷 While its closest living relative is a mongoose, the fossa does not closely resemble any animal found off the island of Madagascar.

🦷 The fossa is usually active at dusk and dawn but will shift its activity pattern in areas where there are domestic dogs or other introduced predators it has to compete against.

----

100 LEMURS is an international collaboration between the Duke Lemur Center, a world leader in the study, care, and conservation of lemurs, and Rachel Hudson, an award-winning wildlife illustrator. Together, we're highlighting lemurs’ incredible diversity, and why lemurs — the most endangered group of mammals on Earth — are so urgently in need of our protection. ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

3 days ago

NEXT WEEKEND! Register now lemur.duke.edu/5k to run in the DLC’s #StayAway5K on May 30-31! Participate wherever you are. Run, walk, hike – you can even channel your inner lemur and hop, skip, or dance – even climb a tree when you’re finished! This race will raise funds lost due to the center’s closure. Thanks so much for your support! <3 ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

5 days ago

Day 46 of #100lemurs with Rachel Hudson Illustration -- meet the golden brown mouse lemur (Microcebus ravelobensis)!

Golden brown mouse lemurs are found exclusively in Ankarafantsika National Park in Madagascar and are endangered. Unlike other species of small lemur, golden brown mouse lemurs seem to struggle to live in disturbed habitats or forests that have been impacted by logging. In those habitats, gray mouse lemurs are more common, even if greater numbers of golden brown mouse lemurs had been recorded there prior to the deforestation.

Golden brown mouse lemurs are less antagonistic in their interactions with other members of their species when compared to gray mouse lemurs. There has been no female dominance observed in this species.

---

If you'd like to learn more about mouse lemurs while supporting their care at the DLC and their conservation in Madagascar, please consider symbolically adopting Thistle, a female gray mouse lemur, through our Adopt a Lemur Program! lemur.duke.edu/adopt.

100 LEMURS is an international collaboration between the Duke Lemur Center, a world leader in the study, care, and conservation of lemurs, and Rachel Hudson, an award-winning wildlife illustrator. Together, we're highlighting lemurs’ incredible diversity, and why lemurs — the most endangered group of mammals on Earth — are so urgently in need of our protection. ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

5 days ago

You may recognize the beautiful Rupi as the mother of one of the DLC’s 2020 sifaka infants, Terence! This stunning image is from longtime keeper-turned-volunteer Steve Coombs, who writes:

“Rupillia, mother and warrior queen. Most beautiful sifaka ever and maker of handsome babies. I was Rupi's primary keeper for the longest of any animal that I took care of, just about my entire tenure. She is the lemur that I had the closest relationship with. Her fierce spirit makes her a challenge to work with, but with patience and training using positive reinforcement, she eventually became trustworthy enough to free-range. In this photo of her as a madonna is her infant Remus. Her offspring, in order, are Helena, Lucius, Irene, Gaius, Romulus, Remus, Magdalena, and Terence. Rupi, a force of nature.”

Thanks so much for sharing, Steve! ❤️ ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

6 days ago

Day 45 of #100lemurs with Rachel Hudson Illustration -- meet Goodman's mouse lemur (Microcebus lehilahytsara)!

Weighing just 45g, Goodman’s mouse lemur is one of the smaller mouse lemurs and looks very much like its cousin, Microcebus rufus.

In fact, if you think many of the mouse lemur species look similar to each other, you’re not alone! Just two decades ago, only two species of mouse lemur were recognized (the reddish-brown ones and the gray ones). The genetics revolution, however, revealed major variation in the mouse lemurs’ genomes — enough to split them in 24 species!

Much of this genetic variation isn’t visible when simply looking at the different species: It just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to be visually distinct in a nocturnal world. In biology, we call this phenomenon cryptic speciation.

---

If you'd like to learn more about mouse lemurs while supporting their care at the DLC and their conservation in Madagascar, please consider symbolically adopting Thistle, a female gray mouse lemur, through our Adopt a Lemur Program! lemur.duke.edu/adopt.

100 LEMURS is an international collaboration between the Duke Lemur Center, a world leader in the study, care, and conservation of lemurs, and Rachel Hudson, an award-winning wildlife illustrator. Together, we're highlighting lemurs’ incredible diversity, and why lemurs — the most endangered group of mammals on Earth — are so urgently in need of our protection. ... See MoreSee Less