My travels are next taking me to Africa and I'm headed out soon. In the meantime, I took a trip to North Carolina. While driving down a country road in Durham, I spotted a sign: Duke Lemur Center – Call for Tours.
Since I’ve always had a love affair with primates, this caught my eye and I had to take a behind-the-scenes tour.
Lemurs are the largest group of prosimians (primates that evolved before monkeys and apes) with over 70 types.
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| Grace -- a Black and White Ruffed Lemur (I bought a painting of hers!) |
The word “lemur” means “ghost” in the Malagasy language – so named because of their haunting stare and nighttime activity.
Lemurs are found only on the island of Madagascar – outside of Madagascar, lemurs can only be seen in captivity.
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| Mongoose Lemur |
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| The well-known Ringtailed Lemur |
Sadly, Madagascar is one of the world’s most endangered biodiversity hotspots – only 10% of the island’s original vegetation remains. As always, habitat destruction endangers animals -- sadly 64% of lemur species are vulnerable or endangered and only 8% are considered to have a healthy population size.
The Duke Lemur Center houses over 250 lemurs representing 20 different species – more lemurs live here than anywhere outside of Madagascar.
The animals range in size from the tiny (and super cute) mouse lemur (just over 2 ounces) to the sifakas lemurs which weigh over 11 pounds.
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| Coquerel's Sifaka |
Most lemur species are awake during the day, but the center houses a number of species of nocturnal lemurs as well as Asian lorises and African bushbabies (also prosimians).
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| Nocturnal Prosimians Living at the Center |
The Center has had an active conservation program for over 20 years – both in North Carolina and through partnerships with the Malagasy people. As a part of their conservation efforts, the Center has outdoor space where certain lemur families live in the trees, completely free-ranging during the warmer months of the year.
Several years ago, the Duke Lemur Center worked with local charities and the Malagasy government to reintroduce over a dozen captive lemurs back into the wild. These animals had been trained in foraging, socializing, breeding and other essential skills necessary for survival in the wild. Unfortunately, it is difficult to train captive animals to fend off predators. Lemurs have three natural predators (hawks, eagles, and a Malagasy mammal, the fossa) and two of the reintroduced animals were lost. However, the remaining animals have joined wild-born families, reproduced, and continue to thrive.
The Duke Lemur Center offers a wonderful opportunity to get up close and learn about these fascinating animals.
After seeing lemurs interact with each other and learning about them, one can’t help but want to find ways to preserve these animals in the wild!
I hope to visit Madagascar and see some of their cousins in the wild!
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| Stop Habitat Destruction and Extinction of Lemurs! |
If you would like to learn more about the Duke Lemur Center and the educational and conservation efforts, please visit their website at: http://lemur.duke.edu/.
If you’re interested in making a financial contribution to their efforts, please visit: http://lemur.duke.edu/tours-gifts/donations/.
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