Breeding Success at Duke Lemur Center

Pia and Conrad are doing well.

Just over a month ago, Pia and Conrad were fighting to survive. Pia had a uterine infection after giving birth to Conrad, and her milk wasn't coming in. Dedicated Primate Technicians and a skilled veterinary staff worked day and night to care for mom and infant, and it paid off. Now both are thriving.

Every life matters. With endangered species, each life takes on special importance. The animals at the Duke Lemur Center represent a genetic safety net for lemurs in the wild in Madagascar - the only place in the world where lemurs occur naturally. So every infant feels like a success.

Blue-eyed black lemurs - the females are auburn in color, the males are black.

This spring has been a good one for the breeding program at Duke Lemur Center. Just after Conrad was born, Drusilla, another Coquerel's sifaka, gave birth to Pompeia. This time mom and infant both did well from the beginning, and they are continuing to thrive. In fact, if you call 919.489.3364 x 0 for a tour, you can see mom and infant playing happily.

The Coquerel's sifaka are not the only lemurs having breeding success at Duke Lemur Center. This past week-end Foster, a Blue-eyed black lemur gave birth to twins. It's early days for the twins, and life for every species is fragile - particularly perinatally, but today mom and twins are doing well.

Ring-tailed lemur with infant

The Ring-tailed lemurs also had infants this spring. We have already had a set of twins and an additional single infant. All are doing well. There is a lot to celebrate at Duke Lemur Center this spring. Come see for yourself. If you can't come by, adopt a lemur. There are lots of ways to help save these precious animals.