Written and Illustrated by Talia Felgenhauer, 2023-24 Undergraduate Fellow in Communications. Originally published in LEMURS Magazine: The “Why” Issue in February 2024. Madagascar is an island like no other. Located hundreds of miles off the southeastern coast of Africa, Madagascar has been isolated for more than 80 million years, changing and evolving independently from the […]
There are at least seven species of bamboo in the SAVA (northeastern) region of Madagascar, some native and some introduced. Some lemurs are bamboo-eating specialists! People in Madagascar use bamboo for diverse purposes, even building their houses from it. Some bamboo are so dense, they make excellent substitutes for wood—and because they can grow […]
For some people, the word “rainforest” conjures up vague notions of teeming jungles. But Camille DeSisto sees something more specific: a complex interdependent web. For the past few years, the Duke graduate student has been part of a community-driven study exploring the relationships between people, plants, and lemurs in a rainforest in northern Madagascar, where the health […]
Of all the animals on Earth, why are we so passionate about lemurs? Of all the islands in the ocean, why is Madagascar remarkable—and so worthy of our conservation attention? In the new “Why” issue of the DLC magazine, you’ll find out! Complimentary copies of the magazine have been mailed to donors of $250+ […]
Enjoy this video created by the DLC-SAVA Conservation team with Malagasy filmmaker Riccardo Morrelas, showcasing the lemurs of the SAVA region of northeastern Madagascar! The Duke Lemur Center partners with Malagasy scientists and local forest managers to study lemurs in remote rainforests. Researchers from CURSA, the university in the northeast region, are studying the […]
By Bethany Old Master’s candidate, Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University Madagascar has the fourth-highest rate of chronic malnutrition in the world (The World Bank, 2018). The country is rich in fruits, vegetables, and legume diversity but nutrition education remains critically low. I served in the education sector of Peace Corps Madagascar from 2015-2018 […]
In the summer and fall of 2021, the DLC shipped eight Coquerel’s sifakas to three European zoos, in an historic expansion of the Coquerel’s sifaka conservation breeding program—marking the beginning of a new chapter in lemur conservation. Read more on pages 42-43 of the Duke Lemur Center’s Annual Magazine. Story by Karl Leif Bates. Video […]
What are the links among agriculture, socioeconomics, and food security in the SAVA region of Madagascar? Preliminary report on research results by Nestorine, Ardhilles Andriantinefiarijaona, Esperio Jaozandry, and James P. Herrera Background Food insecurity, malnutrition, and deforestation are global challenges facing low-and middle-income countries, particularly in the tropics. In 2017, more than 800 million […]
