Duke Lemur Center



In 1966, a prosimian colony of approximately 90 individuals was relocated from the Center for Prosimian Biology at Yale University to Duke University, and thus began the Duke Lemur Center (DLC). Through the 1970s the colony grew to approximately 700 individuals representing 33 species. The current colony ranges between 250 and 300 animals, representing approximately 25 species. Originally called the Duke University Primate Center, the center's name was changed in April of 2006 after a refocusing of the scientific goals and overall mission.

The mission of the Duke University Lemur Center is to promote research and understanding of prosimians and their natural habitat as a means of advancing the frontiers of knowledge; to contribute to the educational development of future leaders in international scholarship and conservation; and to enhance the human condition by stimulating intellectual growth and sustaining global biodiversity.

The Lemur Center, the only university-based facility in the world devoted to the study of prosimian primates, is home to the world's largest colony of endangered primates, including more than 250 lemurs, bush babies and lorises. More than 85 percent of the center's inhabitants were born on site. In 1997, the center began a program to reintroduce black and white ruffed lemurs to Madagascar, the first return of any prosimian primates to the island nation.