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Duke Lemur Center

1 day ago

A spoonful of peanut butter helps the medicine go down! 😋

Like many geriatric lemurs, 21-year-old Coquerel's sifaka Bertarido takes daily gabapentin to help with his arthritis. To make his meds extra tasty, his keepers mix them in with his favorite snack—peanut butter! Don't worry, his companion Cornelia also gets a snack (without meds) so that she doesn't get jealous 😉

📸: Keeper Sarah K. ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

3 days ago

Ring-tailed lemur Eowyn takes good care of her papa, 33-year-old Licinius 🥰

Grooming is not just a way for lemurs to stay clean—it's also a form of social bonding! Dominant females can request grooming from any member of their troop simply by presenting an arm or a leg and waiting to be pampered. You can tell when two lemurs have some sort of relationship (or are in the process of building one) if you see mutual grooming, as the more dominant individual has no obligation to return the favor to a more submissive group member. Infants learn most behaviors through observation, so babies will often start off by grooming the top of mom's head when they observe other family members doing the same 💕

Lemurs have a special grooming tool called a tooth comb! In their bottom jaw, their front four to six teeth (species-dependent) grow forward and out to form a comb-like structure at the front of their jaw. They run this comb through their fur to remove dirt and bugs. They also have a small secondary tongue called a sublingua attached to the base of the tongue (the little white triangle just barely visible in the second photo) that can be used to clean the tooth comb after use 😛

📸: David Haring ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

4 days ago

Hot day? No problem! If you're a professional jokester like Pax, you can play AND lounge on your back 😝

Coquerel's sifakas like Pax are native to the dry deciduous forests on Madagascar's west coasts. During the dry season, temperatures stay generally in the 70s, while the forest heats up to the 80s and 90s during the hotter wet season. You might see lemurs perform a number of behaviors to cool down on hot days, including licking their palms (saliva evaporating cools them down) and lying flat on their bellies (ground temperature is often cooler than air temperature). That doesn't stop playful young adults like Pax from goofing off—rather than hopping around in the heat, she makes play faces at her mom and dad from the comfort of a cool shelf in her family's screened-in outdoor patio 💕

On particularly hot days, our husbandry team will also provide lemurs with popsicles and/or frozen water bowls 🧊

📸: David Haring ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

5 days ago

Stay cool this summer during your visit to the Duke Lemur Center! ☀️

Here in North Carolina, temperatures are getting HOT! Most of our tours operate mostly or entirely outdoors, so here are some tips and tricks to make sure you prepare for a summer tour with the lemurs. Our team are trained to respond to any medical emergencies that may arise, but we'd rather everyone leaves their tour feeling happy and healthy! 😅

Feel free to reach out to our education team (primate@duke.edu) if you have any concerns or questions before your tour 💙 ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

6 days ago

Snapshots from the AZA Mid-Year Conference in Atlanta this past March 📸

➡️ lemur.duke.edu/dlc-at-aza

DLC Safety Coordinator and Lead Primate Technician Madison was recently asked to serve as the education subcommittee chair for the AZA Safety Committee. As part of this role, Madison was in charge of planning, organizing, and facilitating the Safety Summit, a three-day conference within the AZA Mid-Year Conference 😊

During the conference, Madison led a Job Hazard Analysis Workshop, as well as two roundtable discussions on Firearms Team Vetting and Trauma Informed Leadership. In partnership with Utah’s Hogle Zoo and the AZA Safety Escapes and Exposures subcommittee, Madison gave a 30 minute presentation on why training for large trauma events is important, how institutions across the US prepare, how to stock/maintain trauma kits, and the experiences she has that make her so passionate about the training. Madison also served as a panelist on a firearms panel, answering questions about weapons, training, and emergency response 🚑

"It was inspiring to see so many leaders in zoos and aquariums have such a passion for their employees’ and animals’ safety," says Madison. "I learned so much about very niche topics through their passion and genuine concern for making sure everyone gets to go home after their shift." 💙 ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

1 week ago

Deep within the heart of the Duke Lemur Center’s vast campus, you’ll find a small patch of land speckled with fruit trees and vegetables 🫐

➡️ lemur.duke.edu/where-hope-takes-root

This is the secret garden known as “Charlie’s Food Forest,” named after Charlie Welch, who led conservation programs for the Lemur Center for 35 years before retiring in 2024. It is a playground of pawpaws, blueberries, corn, beans and, among other circulating crops, sumac—the leafy green snack of choice for many lemurs 🌿

Every week Welch, Lemur Center staff, and a dozen or so volunteers spread out among the planted beds to harvest organic goodies to supplement the diets of the center’s more than 200 resident primates 🫘

“There are really beautiful things that come out of it,” says Sheri Taylor, a Lemur Center staff specialist and horticulturalist, who leads the volunteers into the food forest each week. “We are out here sweating in 100-degree weather, in almost freezing temperatures. But we start talking about our lives and find that common ground with people who we otherwise wouldn’t necessarily have met. I leave feeling like, ‘OK, I’m ready. I’m energized.’” 🤗

Read more on our website at lemur.duke.edu/where-hope-takes-root ✨ ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

2 weeks ago

"Pose for the camera!" vs "Now let's take a silly one!" 📸

Can you believe that Coquerel's sifaka Arcadius is turning two in just a few months? This playful young adult free-ranges in the forest with mom Gisela, big brother Silas, and baby sister Pomona. While Silas helps mom keep a close eye on the five-month-old infant, Arcadius is far more focused on entertaining himself, leaping energetically from tree to tree and dangling upside down while nibbling on fresh leaves. In the second photo, Arcadius demonstrates a sifaka "play face," an invitation for his siblings (or mom!) to initiate play wrestling or chasing 😆

➡️ lemur.duke.edu/adopt

Want to keep up with Arcadius and his family? You can symbolically adopt mom Gisela through our Adopt a Lemur program! Adopters get quarterly updates on the family, as well as access to adopter-exclusive materials, printable photos, and more! All purchases contribute to the care and conservation of lemurs, so it makes the perfect gift to yourself or a loved one 💙

📸: David Haring ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

2 weeks ago

Some beautiful photos of the honeybee queen herself, Melissa 🐝

Now that Liesl's twins are four months old, they're growing into their own distinct personalities! Melissa is definitely the adventurous twin. Not only does she spend more time exploring on her own than twin brother Karl, but she also seeks out more interaction with big sister Hedwig and dad Schwepps. Melissa's current favorite activity is picking things up in her mouth and running around with them! 🥰

Lemurs are female dominant, and Liesl is a fantastic matriarch, mom, and troop leader. Little lemurs learn primarily by observing the adults in their lives, so we hope Melissa will grow up to be a strong, confident leader just like her momma 💕

📸: Sara Nicholson ... See MoreSee Less