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Duke Lemur Center

16 hours ago

Another day of inspiring and innovative research on primates in Antananarivo #IPS2025 🇲🇬

Yesterday, we heard more cause for hope, as leading lemur experts shared 10+ years of progress since the launch of the Lemur Conservation Action Plan in 2013. Tremendous efforts by dozens of Malagasy and international actors resulted in significant forest and lemur conservation 🙌

DLC SAVA researchers Edgar Rabevao and Romeo Bezaralahy presented their work on the links between lemurs and people. Edgar showed how the Critically Endangered silky sifaka is found at high densities in a few pockets of remote rainforests. Romeo presented about people's knowledge of lemur food trees, which varied among communities and genders. Further, people depend on those same trees. This work is in collaboration with many colleagues and co-authors, especially Dr. Camille DeSisto (recent Duke NSOE graduate and current postdoc at Rice University) and Tristan Frappier-Brinton (Duke Biology PhD candidate, also presenting at IPS), who contributed greatly. HUGE thank you to Duke Bass Connections, re:wild, Phipps Conservatory, and generous Lemur Center supporters for funding this work! 💚 ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

19 hours ago

Radama the Great explores his forest kingdom 🍃

We just can't get enough of Zoboomafoo's newest great-grandson! First-time parents Cassia and Eustace seem thrilled to be back out in their natural habitat enclosure, sharing the joys of the forest with their infant. Radama, now 3 1/2 months old, has grown increasingly more confident moving from tree to tree independently. Lemur infants learn what to eat by closely watching mom, sometimes even stealing food right out of her mouth! 😍

Did you know that the Duke Lemur Center's colony of Coquerel's sifakas is the most successful breeding colony in the world of this species or any species of sifaka? The DLC owns and manages every member of this critically endangered species in human care outside of Madagascar. We've been successful enough with our ex-situ conservation breeding program to send Coquerel's sifakas to other AZA-accredited institutions, and many of these facilities have seen their own breeding success based on DLC husbandry guidelines. Baby Radama is just one puzzle piece in creating a genetic safety net for this critically endangered species. If you visit a Coquerel's sifaka at a zoo near you, they're almost certainly related to the sifakas living in our colony! 💙

📸: Sara Sorraia ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

2 days ago

Day 2 of #IPS2025 was a big day for primate conservation! 💚

Inspiring workshops and roundtables covered community-based conservation across the globe 🌍, the importance of long-term conservation for safeguarding endangered primates 🗓️, and risks of diseases 🦠 for people and non-human primates. Congratulations on a much-deserved Margot Marsh Award to IPS President Dr. Jonah Ratsimbazafy! 👏

Critically, the evening was dedicated to assessing and updating the list of Top 25 Primates in Peril 🐒🦍

Good news: no primates have gone extinct in the last two years. Bad news: several species are on the brink of extinction. Among them are lemurs near and dear to our hearts at DLC: the black-and-white ruffed lemurs and the mongoose lemurs, among 6 others. These species are Critically Endangered and their inclusion is significant for our efforts in Madagascar and in Durham. Our ex-situ breeding program is dedicated to preserving these species in human care. Further, our previous reintroduction of ruffed lemurs from Durham to Madagascar in the early 90s may have contributed to increasing genetic diversity, according to research presented at this Congress 🔍

Once the new list is finalized, it is a powerful catalyst for raising awareness and funding, as well as actions to influence policy and practice. The Lemur Center will do our part to take action and prevent the extinction of these vulnerable species 🥺

📸: Sara Nicholson (photo of ruffed lemur Sputnik) ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

3 days ago

The DLC SAVA Conservation Team are excited to participate in the 30th International Primatological Society conference in Antananarivo! 💚

The first day of the IPS congress was full of inspiring science and hopeful messages for lemur conservation. A full day of sessions focused on conservation efforts in Madagascar and globally, sharing challenges and innovative solutions. Candidier Dimbiranijaonina presented his research on lemur hunting in the SAVA as well as community-driven actions to overcome obstacles to sustainability. Conservation Director James Herrera presented on our participatory process to conservation action planning. The talks sparked exchange with conservationists which gave us new ideas for our future work. Great symposium on Flagship Species 🐼 for promoting conservation messaging, new insights into primate genomics 🧬, and so much more! #IPS2025

After years of research and preparation, our team are so excited to share their results with the international community! Stay tuned for more updates as the conference continues throughout the week 🤩 ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

4 days ago

Happy #NationalZooKeeperWeek to our incredible animal care team! 🤩

The Duke Lemur Center would not be possible without our husbandry staff, who care for the nearly 250 primates in our colony, 365 days a year. While many workplaces close for holidays or snowstorms, the lemurs require care every single day, and our dedicated keepers are responsible for providing food, clean enclosures, daily enrichment, positive reinforcement training, fresh browse, infant care, and much more for all of the lemurs that call the DLC home 💙

Leave a comment to help us celebrate our keepers and let them know how much we value their hard work and passion! ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

5 days ago

We’re excited to announce the newest member of Zoboomafoo’s illustrious family: Radama the Great, named after a Malagasy king! 👑

➡️ lemur.duke.edu/radama

Radama (“rah-DAH-mah”) was born on April 5, 2025, to first-time Coquerel’s sifaka parents Cassia and Eustace. Born at only 85 grams, Radama started off smaller than most sifaka infants, but dedicated care from his parents and the Duke Lemur Center husbandry and veterinary staff have helped this little lemur grow into a sweet, curious juvenile. Despite both being new to parenthood, Cassia and Eustace both have great instincts (and were raised by two of the DLC's supermoms, Gisela and Rodelinda), and the whole family can often be spotted grooming, playing, and cuddling together 💕

Radama’s name was selected by the donor of the Anna Borruel Codina Center for Lemur Medicine and Research. “Cassia was one of the first lemurs treated in the Borruel Center’s ICU,” says DLC Executive Director Greg Dye. “Given the role that the Borruel Center played in Cassia’s treatment and recovery, we thought it only fitting to allow the donor to choose the name of Cassia’s first infant.” 🏥

Fun fact: While Jovian aka Zoboomafoo had twelve offspring over the course of his life and is survived by many grandlemurs, Radama the Great is only his second great-grandlemur! 😱

Learn more about the DLC's littlest sifaka at lemur.duke.edu/radama ✨

📸: David Haring (1,3,6); Lizzie L. (2); Abby Flyer (4,5,7) ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

7 days ago

Let's check in with some of the DLC's littlest residents! 😍

➡️ lemur.duke.edu/ultimate

💚 Rodelinda's infant has started free-ranging for the first time! He likes to spend his mornings high up in the trees with his parents and older siblings. Big sister Egeria has apparently taken quite a liking to her little brother and has been seen spending more time with the infant, although his safe space is still mom Rodelinda's back (📸: David Haring)

❤️ Ruby's infant is a little more hesitant to explore the forest! He's dipped his toes into the grass a couple of times, but he feels more comfortable hanging out with his older siblings in their screened-in patios. Big brother Hubble has been especially attentive to the infant, coming back from the forest to check on his little brother when he doesn't follow the rest of the troop outside (📸: David Haring)

💜 Bonita's infant is the star of our summer tour path! Every day, she spends more and more time roaming her enclosure independently. She's started participating in lots of Big Girl Activities, like voluntarily jumping onto a scale for weighing and finger painting with her parents—her paintings are sold exclusively in our gift shop! Pick one up after your tour to bring happy memories of this little lady home with you (📸: Sarah M.)

💙💙 Sophia's infants are starting to eat solid food! These tiny twin girls are balls of energy and love bouncing around their forest enclosure, but they get just as excited to return to their indoor housing at the end of a long day for their dinner. When have you ever seen two kids so enthusiastic about cabbage?? (📸: David Haring)

All of these infants are still waiting to receive the perfect names—and YOU could be the one to name them! With a tax-deductible donation of $20,000 (payable in two installments), you—or your family, company, organization, etc.—can symbolically adopt and name a little lemur. Your donation contributes to the care of the infant, their family, and all of the other lemurs who reside in our colony, as well as the conservation of the most endangered group of mammals in the world! ✨ ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

1 week ago

Meet Mitsiky, a critically endangered blue-eyed black lemur born to first-time mom Charlie on March 6, 2025 💙

➡️ lemur.duke.edu/mitsiky

We’re thrilled to share that our first donors to come forward to claim an Ultimate Adoption are Cindy and Tom Cook! Cindy and Tom have lived near the Lemur Center for more than 25 years, but they hadn't considered making a significant donation until a friend of theirs, DLC education volunteer Cindy Richards, shared with them the Adopt a Lemur program’s promotion to “name a baby lemur." During Cindy and Tom's visit to the DLC to meet all of the eligible infants, they were immediately taken with this little lemur's big blue eyes and the fact that she is the only infant of her species this year in human care, in any facility in the world 🌍

Cindy, who was touched to see how much the DLC's technicians care for these lemur families, decided to let the technicians choose the name. In the spirit of collaboration, the team who care for Charlie’s family got together and came up with a list of four names to propose to Cindy and Tom, who enjoyed selecting “the” name in this way. “The name ‘Mitsiky’ means ‘smiling’ in Malagasy,” Cindy explained. “Charlie and her infant are known amongst the staff for their upturned lips that make it look like they’re smiling. She makes us smile, too, so the name was just perfect!” ☺️

Mitsiky has been described by keepers as spunky, adventurous, and curious—just like mom! Dad Mangamaso ("blue eyes" in Malagasy) was born at Parc Ivoloina, a nonprofit nature center in eastern Madagascar, and traveled to the DLC in 2017. Blue-eyed black lemurs are among the most endangered primate species in the world, with possibly fewer than 1,000 individuals remaining in the wild, so maintaining a genetically diverse population of these lemurs in human care is a crucial safety net. With a father from Madagascar and a mother descended from generations of lemurs in North America, Mitsiky is a testament to the DLC’s dedication to caring for and conserving the world’s most endangered group of mammals 💚

Learn more about the story behind Mitsiky's name at lemur.duke.edu/mitsiky ✨

📸: Madison A. ... See MoreSee Less