January 17, 2012 “With great sadness, I write to announce an event that I have dreaded for many months now. Our beloved Romeo, the western hemisphere’s only diademed sifaka to be successfully housed in captivity, died this morning of natural causes after a prolonged illness. Death at the Duke Lemur Center is a rare event, and each […]
January 14, 2012 In just four days I leave for Madagascar where I’ll remain until August. The usual pre-trip mix of excitement and anxiety has set in. Four giant duffel bags are already full of research and camping gear for myself and our research team as well as forest and city cloths, medications (daily malaria […]
January 11, 2012 Meet Mosi and Seshat our newest breeding pair of crowned lemurs (Eulemur coronatus)! Mosi is a 1.5 year old male who arrived at the DLC from the Indianapolis Zoo in early November. Seshat was born here at the Lemur Center and is also 1.5 years old. The pair was introduced in mid […]
December 14, 2011 Hi! My name is Leah and I am a sophomore at Duke University studying Environmental Science and Policy and Evolutionary Anthropology and I am lucky enough to have been involved at the Lemur Center since the start of my freshman year. In addition to my duties as a tour guide at our […]
Duke student, Brandon Semel’s adventure continues: Entry 9: Crocs and Blocks 22 July 2011 Now that all of the Earthwatch volunteers are here and set up in their tents, it’s time to get started on the projects. While some teams go off to check trap lines for fosas caught the previous night, my group […]
November 30, 2011 Entry 8: Arovy ny Fosa! Duke student Brandon Semel continues to share his experiences doing research in Madagascar. Spotty internet connections delayed posts. 21 July 2011 Save the fosa! That’s what our principal investigators, Drs. Luke Dollar and Julie Pomerantz, their in-country research Director, Pierrot, myself, and two other American students, several […]
November 26, 2011 More from Duke student, Brandon Semel reporting from Madagascar. Delays in reports are due to spotty internet access. Entry 7: To the Coast 20 July 2011 With nearly one hundred new birds, reptiles, and mammals committed to memory, it’s time for a vacation! The nearest airport is in the coastal city of […]
November 16, 2011 Entry 6: Market Day 13 July 2011 It’s Wednesday morning and the streets of Andranafansika (the nearby town) are alive with the hustle and bustle of the market! Men in tiny little run-down stands sell everything from knives and axe heads to car parts and radios. Piles of fruits, vegetables, shrimp and […]