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Duke Lemur Center

1 day ago

Ruffed lemur Kepler munches on local plants in her natural habitat enclosure 🌱

Check out the second photo for a close up look at Kepler's tooth comb! This adaptation, composed of the four or six teeth (depending on species) at the front of a lemur's bottom jaw, is present in every lemur species besides aye-ayes. The teeth involved are their mandibular incisors and incisiform canines. Tooth combs are used for grooming, as lemurs run them through their fur to remove dirt or bugs that might get stuck in their fluffy coats 😁

📸: David Haring ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

2 days ago

We're in the final stretch of our summer tour season, and there's still tickets left on our Walking with Lemurs tours! 🤩

➡️ lemur.duke.edu/wwl

The final day of tour season is this upcoming MONDAY, 9/29! Don't miss your chance to watch these incredible primates snack, snooze, leap, and play in their natural habitat enclosures. (Duke Forest looks especially beautiful this time of year as we usher in autumn!) There are still a handful of tickets available in the upcoming days, so head over to our website to secure your slot 🎟

We will hopefully be able to open some off-season Walking with Lemurs tours as we move into October, but these will only open 1-5 days in advance, as there are several weather, staffing, and animal wellbeing factors that go into the decision to free-range the lemurs in their forested habitats. Keep an eye on our website and social media for announcements about off-season Walking with Lemurs availability! 🍂

📸: Sara Nicholson ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

6 days ago

Learn about the incredible evolutionary story of lemurs in our new Extreme Evolution Wild Workshop! 💀

➡️ lemur.duke.edu/onsite-tours-ww

Delve into the marvels of lemur evolution with DLC Museum of Natural History Curator, Dr. Matt Borths, AND see the ultimate living examples of extreme evolution in this brand new program! While you learn, you can practice your fossil preparation skills on real specimens from our collection, hold a 50-million year old primate skull, and maybe even find a fossilized shark tooth to bring home with you! We’ll end the evening by visiting some of our amazing aye-ayes with tasty treats and stepping behind the scenes in the Borruel Center—home of our veterinary and research departments 🔍

This unique program includes elements from the DLC Museum of Natural History, but it will be held on our main campus at 3705 Erwin Road from 5-7PM on Thursday evenings starting in November. Please note that while there will be many fossil primates shared, the only living lemurs we will visit are the aye-ayes. This program is open to guests ages 10+ and tickets must be booked in advance, so visit our website now to secure your spot! 🎟

📸: David Haring (1,3); Abby Flyer (2) ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

1 week ago

When you're in a silly face competition and your opponent is Coquerel's sifaka Pax 🤪

Have you met one-and-a-half-year-old Pax on a Walking with Lemurs or Behind the Scenes tour? This very goofy girl lives with parents Magdalena and Gratian and is the grandniece of Jovian aka Zoboomafoo. She's the queen of treetop antics, often play wrestling with her parents or jumping eagerly from tree to tree in search of the tastiest leaves. Lemurs have powerful gripping hands and feet, allowing them to pull off amazing acrobatic feats as they move gracefully through the forests of Madagascar 🤗

📸: Sara Nicholson ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

1 week ago

Celebrate spooky season with the Duke Lemur Center's nocturnal residents in our new Creatures of the Night Wild Workshop! 🖤

➡️ lemur.duke.edu/onsite-tours-ww

This brand new program focuses on the incredible nocturnal primates of the Duke Lemur Center! You’ll learn what makes these animals so special, and maybe even hear a few spooky tales, while you watch them enjoy the enrichment you made for them. Please note that we will devote all of our time to the nocturnal species, so we will only have the opportunity to see fat-tailed dwarf lemurs, gray mouse lemurs, Moholi bush babies, and aye-ayes during this program 🎃

This evening program will be offered 5-7PM on most Thursday and Friday evenings in October and is open to guests ages 10+. Tickets must be booked in advance and are available NOW on our website! 🎟

📸: David Haring ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

1 week ago

Ring-tailed lemur Sophia's daughters finally have names—meet Elisabet and Doris! 💕

➡️ lemur.duke.edu/elisabet-doris

We’re thrilled to share that another dedicated DLC volunteer has made a heartfelt donation through an Ultimate Adoption! Inspired by the incredible story of a small group of our education docents, who collectively raised $20,000 to adopt and name Spock and help the DLC during a particularly difficult budget year, she felt moved to give back in a meaningful way 🥰

Her gift is not only an act of compassion—it’s a tribute. With this adoption, she honors the memory of her beloved family members, Elisabeth and Doris, two sisters whose legacy of kindness lives on through this contribution. We are deeply grateful for her generosity and the ripple effect it creates. At the Duke Lemur Center, every gift tells a story—and this one speaks of love, remembrance, and hope 💙

Need help telling these tiny twins apart? Elisabet is slightly larger and has yellow eyes, while Doris is slightly smaller and has orange eyes 💛🧡

📸: David Haring (1); Sara Nicholson (2) ... See MoreSee Less

Duke Lemur Center

1 week ago

Hibiscus flowers for Bonita and family 🌺

Mongoose lemurs Bonita, Juanito, and their five-month-old daughter sniff some fresh hibiscus flowers on the summer tour path! While some lemurs like eating flowers, this family preferred to enjoy the hibiscus with their noses and not their mouths. Because scent is such an important sense for lemurs, scent enrichment is a fantastic way to engage their curiosity 🥰

It's getting harder and harder to tell baby and her mom apart as the infant continues to grow, but dad Juanito is easy to identify with his orange beard—mongoose lemurs are sexually dichromatic, so the girls both sport white chins 🧡🤍

📸: David Haring ... See MoreSee Less