Fossil study finds that vision—not the ‘thinking’ frontal lobe—drove varied brain development in primates By Fedor Kossakovski, University Communications & Marketing. Published August 7, 2026. View the original. A new study led by a Duke University scientist overturns a long-held idea about how primates, including humans, came to have such large and sophisticated brains. The research finds […]
First record of an adult female ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) making a male-specific howl vocalization New research published on July 14 in Primates (2026) features data collected here at the Duke Lemur Center! Dr. Lisa Paciulli and her team discovered that female ring-tailed lemur Tellus, who lived at the DLC with companion Licinius, produced a […]
This summer [June 2026], the Duke University Office of Climate and Sustainability welcomed the Duke Lemur Center as part of its integrated unit—six teams working across the university to build a strong future. Duke University recently was awarded $4.4 million from The Duke Endowment for DLC support, including a newly created academic director position. Primatologist and Duke […]
Read the Duke Lemur Center’s Stakeholder Update, sent to our donors on June 17, 2026. Questions? Contact Mary Paisley, DLC Development Director, at mary.paisley@duke.edu. June 2026 Stakeholder Update Two young ring-tailed lemurs are new to exploring one of our eleven forested free-ranging enclosures. The infants, Melissa and Karl, are clinging to mom, Liesl, as their […]
By Marie Claire Chelini and Owen Covington, Trinity Communications, with additional reporting by Robin Smith, Ph.D. Posted June 11, 2026. Peter Klopfer, professor emeritus of Biology, civil rights activist and co-founder of the Duke Lemur Center, died on June 5 at the age of 95. He is survived by his wife, Martha, and their three daughters. Peter […]
Podcast In “A Creature That Has a Superpower” (Winter 2026), we discuss a truly incredible little lemur with evolutionary superpowers: the fat-tailed dwarf lemur! Dwarf lemurs are the only members of our primate family tree that are obligate hibernators. Tune in for a crash course in what makes these hibernating primates so fascinating and how […]
By Dr. James Herrera, DLC Director of Conservation. It is with great joy that we share the news: Nestorine has successfully completed her Ph.D.! Nestorine has been a collaborator with DLC since 2019, and starting in 2021, she has been a Ph.D. scholar studying nutrition and solutions to malnutrition in the SAVA region of Madagascar. […]
Originally sent as our “Best of Spring” eNewsletter on May 4, 2026. Join our email list to be the first to receive our newsletters in the future! Updates are sent four to six times annually. IN THIS ISSUE: Zoboomafoo, new infants, space travel, support and snuggle with our new custom plushes, advancing veterinary science, Presidential Award, […]