When people think of lemurs they usually think of Ring-Tailed Lemurs. They can be found all around the world in zoological institutions and they can be seen in various movies. Due to their popularity, people assume they are safe from extinction. However, two studies have been published recently that suggest the iconic Ring-Tailed Lemur could be headed for extinction and soon. Both studies, one in Primate Conservation and one in Folia Primatologica, project that there are only 2,000-2,400 lemurs leftRead more
Posts tagged: #ring-tailed
Lemur Training Update
The red ruffed lemurs have been off exhibit since December. We have just a couple of weeks left until it is warm enough for the ring tailed lemurs to be outside during the day and the red ruffed lemurs to move upstairs, on exhibit. Here is where we were last time I updated about training- click here. While our focus was going to be crate training we also added the behavior of station. Station is a way to 1)Read more
Popsicles
We are always on the look out for new and exciting enrichment. Keeper Marilyn and I are both lemur trainers and work together in Explore the Wild on Wednesdays, so we came up with the idea to make some sort of popsicle for the lemurs. We wanted them to be able to hold the popsicle for the themselves while they ate it. So we froze juice and added green beans, celery, and carrots as the sticks. It didn’t workRead more
History of the Lemur
Often times while I’m training the Ring Tailed Lemurs I over hear visitor’s comments. “Oh look- she’s feeding the…. Raccoons? Monkeys? What is that animal?” At the end of each session I ask, any guests that managed to stay interested long enough, if they have any questions. Typically by this point they have read all the exhibit signs and know that the cute little animals with looooong tails are Lemurs. But what is a Lemur? The word Lemur-which meansRead more
Creature Feature: Lycus the ring-tailed lemur
Lycus is one of the oldest lemurs we have, and is a favorite among some of the keepers. He was born at the Duke Lemur Center in March of 1985, and came to live at the museum in October of 2005. He lives with two other ring-tailed lemurs, Cassandra and her son Satyrus. It is hard to tell the three apart, so they all have different colored bands on their tracking collars. But Lycus is the easiest to tell apartRead more