Posted August 13, 2025. This year, the Duke Lemur Center—like many university-affiliated institutions—is navigating unprecedented financial challenges due to sweeping changes in federal funding. These shifts have created significant gaps in our budget, threatening the momentum we’ve built in lemur care, groundbreaking research, and global conservation. General fund gifts are our top priority right now. […]
By James Herrera, Ph.D. and DLC staff. Posted July 20, 2025. This week, the 30th International Primatological Society (IPS) Congress is proudly being hosted by Madagascar, for the first time since 1998! The IPS is dedicated to the study, conservation, and welfare of primates in the wild and within human care. Its biannual Congress is […]
On Saturday, May 17, 2025, the DLC celebrated the nearly 40-year career and upcoming retirement of our Conservation Coordinator and planter of seeds, Charlie Welch! We’re proud to share this video of the presentations of the evening as well as a full transcript of the speakers’ remarks. What a lovely evening it was, and […]
By James Herrera, Ph.D. Originally published in Duke TODAY on April 8, 2025. COVID-19 continues to plague us, Mpox is an emerging global threat, and the avian flu is decimating industrial poultry as well as endangered wildlife. What do all these epidemics have in common? They originated in wild animals and spread to domestic animals […]
Written by Camille DeSisto, Ph.D. candidate at the Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment. Originally published in LEMURS Magazine: The “Where” Issue in February 2025. Ecologists study the relationships between living things, including humans, and their environment. By studying the complex ways that plants and animals are connected to each other and the world around […]
For many in Madagascar, the new year brings many opportunities for landscape restoration. January is usually a perfect time because the rainy season has begun, providing natural irrigation for the trees. All over the island, different partners and organizations host big reforestation events, sometimes with thousands of people planting tens of thousands of trees. At […]
Who would have thought that a small collection of mixed primates brought to Duke Forest in 1966 would grow into a global force in lemur care, research, and conservation? In LEMURS Magazine: The “Where” Issue, we highlight the work we do around the globe, from North Carolina to Madagascar and everywhere in between!
Happy International Women’s Day! By James Herrera, Ph.D., DLC-SAVA Conservation Coordinator. Published on March 8, 2025. On this International Women’s Day, we’re pleased to highlight the amazing women in Madagascar who work tirelessly to ensure food security for their families. DLC-SAVA Conservation is honored to work with networks of women farmers who are doing amazing […]