Dec 20, 20213 min
(Image of me at the Duke Lemur Center)
(Image courtesy of The Duke Lemur Center)
(Image courtesy of The Duke Lemur Center)
Founded in 1966, the Duke Lemur Center (DLC) is an internationally acclaimed non-invasive research center housing over 200 lemurs and bushbabies across 13 species—the most diverse population of lemurs on Earth, outside their native Madagascar. Because all of its research is non-invasive, the DLC is open to the publicand educates more than 35,000 visitors annually. Its highly successful conservation breeding programseeks to preserve vanishing species such as the aye-aye, Coquerel’s sifaka, and blue-eyed black lemur, while itsMadagascar Conservation Programs study and protect lemurs—the most endangered mammals on Earth—in their native habitat. The Division of Fossil Primatesexamines primate extinction and evolution over time and houses over 35,000 fossils, including extinct giant lemurs and one of the world’s largest and most important collections of early anthropoid primates.
(Image courtesy of The Duke Lemur Center)
The Duke Lemur Center's mission is to protect and preserve these truly unique primates. This mission is divided into three folds via , "to advance science, scholarship, and biological conservation through interdisciplinary non-invasive research, community-based conservation, and public outreach and education." The Center helps visitors and locals alike the importance of lemur's biodiversity.
(Image courtesy of The Duke Lemur Center)
At the DLC, Students can could experiments via the "living laboratory". The Living Lab is a control environment which removes the unknowns of studies conducted in the wild. Students like Alex Dehgan, founder of Conservation X Labs, have made huge strides in the conversation and research arena.
(Image courtesy of The Duke Lemur Center)
Lemurs aren’t just rare; they’re the most endangered group of mammals on Earth. - Duke Lemur Center
Lemurs are found in the wild only in Madagascar and their habitat which has only 10% of the natural vegetation cover remains
Lemurs and other prosimians like bushbabies and lorises are the most ancestral primates and evolved long before monkeys and apes.
Studying lemurs helps researchers learn more about primate evolutions and create valuable models for studying human diseases like Alzheimer’s.
(Image courtesy of The Duke Lemur Center)
As for the future of the center, we will continue to be at the forefront of lemur research, education, and conservation. We are excited to be nearing the grand opening of our new Lemur Medicine and Research Center,.
(Video courtesy of Dream Works. Film Directed by Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath. Video depicts the characters dancing to King Julien (Sasha Baron-Cohen)'s rendition of I Like To Move It)