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Duke Lemur Center

7 hours ago

Mongoose lemurs Maddie, Duggan, and Clancy exploring one of our beautiful forest enclosures 🍃

Clancy (second photo) is the two-year-old son of Duggan (third) and Maddie (fourth). Duggan was paired with Maddie on a breeding recommendation, so we're crossing our fingers for some younger siblings for Clancy in the upcoming years! You can tell Maddie apart from the boys by her white "beard." Mongoose lemurs are sexually dichromatic, meaning that the males and females have different color patterns, so Duggan and Clancy sport orange "beards" instead 🎨

📸: Sara Nicholson ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

1 week ago

Since today is ring-tailed lemur Aracus' 32nd (!!!) birthday, we wanted to take some time today to celebrate the DLC's oldest residents 🎉

💚 The birthday boy, Aracus, is currently the oldest free-ranger at the DLC! He lives out in our largest forest enclosure with his partner, Liesl, and their three daughters (📸: Sara Nicholson)

🧡 Aye-aye Poe is actually the oldest lemur residing at the DLC right now—he's 36! Poe was born in the wild and is one of the original founding members of the population of aye-ayes in human care (📸: David Haring)

💛 Ring-tailed lemur Licinius is 30 years old and has the most distinct tail at the DLC, with gray stripes that fade into white near the tip. He's also the father of our youngest ring-tailed resident, infant Sherlock! (📸: Bob Karp)

💙 Blue-eyed black lemur Kidman is the oldest female lemur in our colony at 29 years old. She's also one of our most prolific finger painters, completing a record 22 masterpieces in one painting session! (📸: David Haring)

❤️ 28-year-old Cardinal is the only red-fronted lemur currently living at the DLC. He's been adopted by a family of ring-tailed lemurs and free-ranges with them in one of our eight acre forest enclosures (📸: Sara Nicholson)

💜 Last but not least is 30-year-old ring-tailed lemur Aristides, who lives with companion Lilah. To accommodate his arthritis, our animal caretakers have retrofitted his enclosure with plenty of ramps and branches to help him get around with minimal stress (📸: David Haring)

Which of our old folks have stolen YOUR heart??? 💖 ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

1 week ago

💙 Elementary, my dear Watson! 💙

Meet the newest ring-tailed resident of the DLC: Sherlock! He was born on April 7, 2023, to experienced parents Sierra Mist and Licinius. You don't have to be a detective to figure out which literary character gave this little guy his name! 🔍

Sherlock is Sierra Mist's largest infant, born at a whopping 90 grams—older siblings Scout and Gatsby weighed in at 71 and 73 grams, respectively! To learn more about the newest addition to this rambunctious family and see some ✨adorable✨ pictures of baby Sherlock, visit lemur.duke.edu/sherlock 🎉

📸: Sara Nicholson ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

2 weeks ago

No matter the age, sex, or species, there's one thing that unites all of our lemurs... they love food! 😋

Tag a foodie in the comments who gets as excited as Coquerel's sifaka Felix, ring-tailed lemur Scout, and mongoose lemur Nacho about their favorite snacks 🥬🌽🍎

📸: Sara Nicholson (Felix, Scout); Madison Armand (Nacho) ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

2 weeks ago

Introducing the DLC's first official Lemur of the Summer: Carolina! 💜

The DLC's Adopt a Lemur program is a great way to support your favorite furry friends. Symbolically adopt a lemur as a unique gift for someone special in your life or as a treat for yourself! This is a tax-deductible gift that goes toward the $8,400 per year that it costs to care for each animal at the DLC, as well as aiding our conservation efforts in Madagascar. For a minimum donation of $50, you or your designated recipient will receive a personalized adoption packet and quarterly email updates (with photos!) for one year about Carolina and her family. Our adoption packets can be shipped anywhere in the world 🌎

Do you or your loved one have a different favorite lemur species? We have eight other adoptable species available year-round, including ring-tailed lemurs, aye-ayes, and Coquerel's sifakas. Adoptions last for one year and can be renewed. Mongoose lemurs are only available for a limited time, so be sure to adopt Carolina this summer if you love mongoose lemurs as much as we do! 😍

To learn more or donate now, visit lemur.duke.edu/summerlemur 🎁

📸: Sara Nicholson and David Haring

NOTE: All of our adoptions are symbolic. The “adopted” lemur stays here at the DLC, where we provide high-quality food, top-notch care, and daily enrichment. Lemurs are wild animals, and there are many reasons lemurs should never be kept as pets #notapet ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

2 weeks ago

Happy Mother's Day to ring-tailed lemur Liesl, red ruffed lemur Ruby, Coquerel's sifaka Pompeia, mongoose lemur Carolina, and all of the other primate moms here at the DLC and around the world! 💝

Some Mother's Day lemur fun facts:

💪 95% of lemur species are female dominant! Moms most often assume the role of dominant female in a group of lemurs, and the rest of the family will follow wherever mom roams. The dominant female gets first dibs on food, comfortable napping spots, and patches of sunlight, and the rest of the group will move to accommodate her.

🪹 While most lemur species have 1-3 kids at a time, ruffed lemurs can have up to 6! Unlike other diurnal species, who carry their infants around with them, ruffed lemur moms will build nests to leave their kids in while they roam.

🥜 It is less stressful for both the animals and their caregivers if the lemurs understand how to participate in their care. Our animal technicians use behavioral training to teach our lemurs to perform certain behaviors on cue for a food reward. After training, lemurs will enter a transport crate, come to their keeper for an injection, perform physical therapy exercises, or allow veterinary palpation and ultrasound for pregnancy evaluation. Coquerel's sifaka Pompeia has even been trained to trade her baby for a peanut! This process, called voluntary infant removal, allows our veterinary team to perform examinations on Pompeia's infants with minimal stress to mom.

🎨 Some lemur species are sexually dichromatic, meaning adult males and females have different colorations. However, all infants are born in the female color palette so that they can blend in with mom's fur when riding around on her back. This helps them avoid becoming a target for predators! Male infants will start to transition to the male color palette around a few months of age.

📸: 1 - ring-tailed mom Liesl grooming daughter Griselda (Sara Nicholson); 2 - red ruffed mom Ruby with son Hubble (Sara Nicholson); 3 - Coquerels's sifaka mom Pompeia and daughter Francesca mutually grooming (Sara Sorraia); 4 - mongoose lemur infant Bonita peeking out from behind mom Carolina's back (David Haring) ... See MoreSee Less