You can help save lemurs

Finally! There is an action you can take that will help us save lemurs, and it won't cost you a dime!

Pepsi is giving money to help worthy causes, and they are letting you decide which causes are worthy.

Starting on March 1, 2010, go to www.refresheverything.com. Look under the category The Planet, or look under the $50,0000 category. Search for Duke Lemur Center: Path to Tomoroow.

Vote for us once each day. (You can vote for up to 10 causes per day.)Ask you friends and family to join you in voting. Ask everyone you know!

The top 10 causes getting the most votes each month will receive money from Pepsi. Think how much you could help. And all you have to do is click!

More 1st hand news from Madagascar

Travel Notes from Charlie Welch, Duke Lemur Center's Conservation Manager
Tues. 2/2 – Leaving for Sambava tomorrow. Today I met with University of Antananarivo Veterinary School Director, Dr. Jhon Rasambainarivo and some of his staff, at the Vet School. Dr. Jhon is the father of Fidy, Ivoloina’s very capable staff veterinarian. Had a very nice meeting with them, and tour of the School. The School is simple and certainly has needs, but I was very impressed at what they had been able to accomplish with the funds that they do have available. Especially remarkable were the 3 new labs of different types. We are hoping to be able to collaborate with the Vet School in some way that will further their teaching capacity. A first step is the donation of the veterinary medicine books that we are sending from DLC.
Wed. 2/3 – Chris Birkinshaw of Missouri Botanical Garden and I fly to Sambava this morning. Sambava is on the northeast coast of Madagascar, in the heart of the vanilla producing region. It is a region where there is more remaining forest than in other parts of the eastern wet forest. As we flew in I was struck by the number of villages in the area, which makes it difficult to imagine that the remaining forest can hold on for much longer.
This afternoon Chris and I, and the MBG representative in the area, Dorien, visited some NGOs and agri-businesses working in the region. One such agri-business was a company which is promoting and buying jatropha. Jatropha is a small very adaptable tree that grows in a variety of situations. The seeds produce useful oil, and are bought by this particular company. It is one of a variety of alternatives to slash and burn. We also met today with the regional director of the Water and Forests Department. He was kind enough to see us, although his mind is now heavily on the critical matter of illegal exploitation of rosewood in the region.
Thurs. 2/4 – Today we met with village elders from 3 different fokontany (villages) in the Makirovana – Tsihomanaomby (M-T) area, a site we’re investigating as a potential DLC conservation site. One of my interests is to see what their attitudes are towards forest protection. A bit to my surprise, they were all anxious to see the forests near them protected, in large part because they are feeling the impact of the slash and burn cutting on the slopes. The resulting erosion is ruining their rice paddies in the low areas. Also, they are seeing a decrease in water flow from important water sources. The local people are all interested in help with irrigation projects to improve their rice output – conservation tradeoffs. At any rate, I was very encouraged by all 3 meetings. The third of the 3 villages, Antanandava is off the main road, so required a scenic but long walk (20 kms roundtrip). The village sits on the banks of the large Bemarivo River, and you could tell that they don’t see vazaha (white foreigners) so often. Throughout the meeting, the doorways were crammed with 20+ children’s heads watching our every peculiar move!
Fri. 2/5 – Today we finally strike off into the forest for a tour of the M – T area, however not before getting corralled into a meeting with hundreds of middle school students, by one of the enthusiastic local mayors. We were of course once again the center of attention, and we each spoke about the importance of forest protection, and congratulated them on their reforestation efforts. Schedules have to remain fluid in Madagascar …
To get to the M-T area we had to cross areas of agricultural land, including my least favorite walking in the world, through rice paddies. Not actually through the paddies, but in the drainage canals. Wet feet starting off a long walk, and in not so clean water. Complaining aside, or almost aside, the walk into the forest was relatively short, but the heat and the uphill grade made it a bit challenging to hold pace. Not the walker that I was 10 years ago.
Once we were into the forest we began to immediately come across places where rosewood had been illegally cut. And not just cut, but dug around and removed at far below ground level! I suppose that the good news was that there was no evidence of recent cutting, nor did we hear any cutting while we were in the forest. The not so good news is that the reason is probably that there is no more rosewood of appropriate size left in this particular forest. But at least the forest intrusion has ceased there for the time being. The forest was generally healthy looking, though lacked a normal percentage of larger trees. Some other less valuable tree species had been removed as well.
The guides and porters led us to an area in the forest where we set up camp. Even managed to get tents set up, and dinner cooked and eaten before the sky opened up and rained buckets non-stop for hours.
Sat. 2/6 – Lemurs finally! Just as we were getting up this morning a group of about 5 crowned lemurs moved very quickly through the camp area. They were very shy, and we could only manage glimpses. People do eat lemurs in this area, and I am told not only is hunting by snare traps, but also with guns. Unfortunately lemurs are eaten in the larger towns as well – lots of “sensibilization” to be done in this area about the ecological damage from choosing to eat wild game meat. In any case, the hunting makes for very flighty lemurs that are difficult to get very close to.
We struck camp early, leaving the porters to finish and meet us eventually back at the main road. We spent the morning doing a slow walking tour around the forest. Today I was more encouraged about the bird life that we came across. We saw blue coua, crested ibis, and other species which are indicators of relatively good forest. One spot that we stopped and rested was just jumping with continuous bird activity. Unfortunately we saw no more lemurs.
By afternoon our walk had taken us out of the good forest into a mix of degraded and agricultural land. Mostly there were rice paddies and “tavy” (slash and burn) rice on the hillsides. With the price of vanilla at a tenth of what it reached several years back, many locals throughout the northeast have converted their vanilla plots into tavy rice production. At least with the vanilla some plant cover is left, and there is no burning. Tavy simply has no positive up side. Eventually we crossed rice paddies again, and came out to the road at the village of Ambodisambalahy. As we walked along the road, someone was kind enough to give us a ride to our rendezvous point of Ambavala. From there it was back to Sambava.
Sun. 2/7 – Today Chris B. flew back to Tana. There are only 3 flights a week between Tana and Sambava, so our choices are limited. Having Chris not only helping to coordinate my time here, but also come along himself was invaluable. And Dorien’s help and guiding was indispensible. Very impressive what Dorien has been able to get done in this area as the only MBG representative on the ground here. His relations with the local people are excellent, and he has had success in making people aware of the importance of protecting the M-T forest (which does actually now have a low level of protected status) and getting people to cease cutting and cultivating in the “strictly protected” zones. Not an easy task.
As Chris leaves, silky sifaka researcher Erik Patel arrives in Sambava. Erik has agreed via email to spend some time with me in the area. With Erik is his research assistant Kristen, who will be settling in for a 3-month stay at Erik’s research site. The site is in Marojejy National Park which is about 2 or 3 hours drive from here, on the road to Andapa. We will make a visit to that area tomorrow and Tuesday, but unfortunately will not have the time to get into the forest to see the silkies.
Mon. 2/8 – We leave at mid-morning for Andapa. After leaving the road that continues northward along the coast, we slowly began gaining elevation, and the air becomes just a bit cooler. Mountains surround us, and as we approach the steeply sloped area of Marojejy NP, the Park’s distinctive peaks remain shrouded in clouds. A very impressive and scenic sight. Marojejy is not one of Madagascar’s most visited parks as it is somewhat off the usual tourist routes, and it’s also quite difficult to walk the steep trails. I do believe though that it is one of the most scenic areas that I have seen in Madagascar. We stop at the park office and visitor center, where I am shown the exhibits, which include a giant aye-aye photo by DLC’s David Haring. Erik works very closely with the Park guides here, and there are some very capable ones. After some quick programming with those that work for him, Erik and I continue up the road, continually upward, until we arrive in Andapa. As beautiful a natural area as Marojejy Park is, the Andapa area is equally as appealing from a human on-the-land standpoint. The town lies in a natural basin that is surrounded by mountains on all sides. The flat basin floor is covered from one side to the other with rich and productive emerald green rice paddy fields. Really quite a sight to behold. Erik and I walked to a nearby hill where we could get a good view of the basin.
We met with the regional Madagascar National Parks Director who oversees Marojejy and Anjanaharibe Sud protected areas. As often happens in this small country, he was a familiar face from years earlier, and seemed pleased to meet again. A friend of Erik’s in Andapa kindly invited us to dinner with his family. The friend and his wife work sometimes in tourism in the area as guides for groups. Because of the political situation, and because of the rosewood cutting publicity, very few visitors have been coming to the area, making life difficult for those who depend on tourism.
Tues. 2/9 – Spoke with the hotel owner about the difficulties of drawing tourists when rosewood is still being illegally cut. We spoke with many who are very frustrated with the situation, for a variety of reasons.
Later, drove back to Sambava.

Duke Lemur Center's Direct Connection to Madagascar - Charlie Welch

Travel Notes in Madagascar
From Duke Lemur Center's Conservation Manager, Charlie Welch

Fri 1/29/10 – Arrived in the capital of Madagascar, Antananarivo (Tana) at 4:00 AM after leaving Durham around noon on Wednesday. It is a long tiring flight, but at least only 1 stop between Paris and Tana. In any case, as sleep mostly escapes me on flights, I arrived tired, yet with a list of things needing to be done before the weekend. So, several cups of coffee and onward.

It seems so familiar to be back here in Madagascar – crowing rosters starting up in the wee hours of the morning, the smell of eucalyptus smoke from cooking fires, and the thousands of pedestrians streaming along both sides of the city streets. Tana looks a little more worn, and worn down than usual. These are tough economic times for most Malagasy, and it shows.

Today’s tasks included setting up meetings, buying a cheap cell phone and prepaid minutes (a much better deal than we get in the US with our required contracts!), purchasing Air Madagascar tickets for internal flights, and having a meeting with staff of the Madagascar national zoo, Parc Botanique et Zoologique de Tsimbazaza (PBZT). The latter meeting was to discuss potential collaboration on veterinary issues. The DLC's recent veterinary trainees, Haja and Hery, participated in that meeting. It was good to see them, and they send their best wishes to all on the DLC staff. We followed the meeting with a tour of the zoo. After more discussion and catching up with Haja and Hery over a coke in a nearby hotely, and my day was finished. I gladly collapsed into my hotel bed and slept wonderfully until I came full awake 3 hours later. Wonderful jetlag…

Sat 1/30 – Not much that can be done over the weekend days, so writing and studying the conservation site report. Succeeded in talking to some friends and colleagues on my brand new phone, but must confess to struggling with the texting. Ivoloina staff veterinarian Fidy Rasambainarivo is in Tana for several meetings, and he stopped by the hotel to pick up one of my 2 pieces of luggage to take it back to Tamatave with him tomorrow. The bag is full of things for Tamatave only, so no need for me to tote it all over northern Madagascar. My last stop is Tamatave. Was great to sit down with Fidy and catch up, and very kind of him to take the bag off my hands.

MFG project manager An Bollen is also in town for meetings, and she is here with Ingrid Porton, vice chair of the MFG who has also just recently arrived from the US. Had a nice dinner with them and also Richard Lewis, the director of Durrell Conservation programs in Madagascar. Finally a chance to down a few THB beers! A very nice evening.

Sun 1/31 – Still having that annoying jetlag sleep pattern. More time spent writing and studying the Makirovana conservation report.

Energy efficient new housing for endangered animals at Duke Lemur Center

by Greg Dye, Operations Manager
After more than 10 years of planning, a year of actual construction and several million dollars, Pyxis, Hunter and their five kids moved into their home. From a historic stand point the event was very non dramatic. The seven red ruff lemurs voluntarily walked into their kennels during the morning’s training session and then were literally carried down the road and released into their new habitats. It only took a couple of minutes before all seven started exploring their new digs like children finding an unexpected stash of Christmas presents.



This building is one of two that will be home to 60 lemurs. It’s called the Releasable Building because it was designed with the purpose of giving the lemurs the ability to free range in acres of Duke Forest. Additionally the building provides every lemur with spacious indoor/ outdoor habitats when it’s too cold for them to be romping around Duke Forest. Habitats can be reconfigured by providing interconnecting pass-throughs and over head tunnels to create multi-dimensional suites for a lemur family. The interior space will be kept at a warm 68 to 72 degrees during the winter and air conditioned during the summer. A built-in watering system provides the lemurs with clean filtered water 24/7. Each of the new buildings is equipped with a gourmet restaurant quality kitchen space, state-of-the-art veterinary examine room and a work space for researchers. There are even more design features that have led to the building receiving a silver LEED rating. For those of you not familiar with the LEED rating, it’s a way of measuring the energy efficiency of a building. Features such as: the use of energy efficient windows that allow natural light to pass through so that less electricity is used to light the building, using special water fixtures that reduce the building’s water usage by 15,000 gallons a year, using more than 20% recycled building material and making sure that 70% of the construction waste was recycled along with the use of motion sensors that turn on and off lights that will save 20% more energy all reflect the Lemur Center’s commitment to preserving the world around us. As for the lemurs, I think it’s accurate to say that many of these details escape them, but they sure seem to enjoy them none the less.

Bonjour, Mouse lemurs!

by Andrea Katz, Live Animal Curator

Our nine new mouse lemurs have finally arrived from France! These five females and four males, born in Dr. Martine Perret’s research center near Paris, will be the core of our rejuvenated breeding program for these fascinating, endearing nocturnal lemurs. The animals are all young, most under two years of age. Weighing less than 100 grams, a mouse lemur could sit in a teacup with room to spare.

Several of you responded generously to help fund this mouse lemur import, and we thank you again. It’s taken a full year to obtain all of the required permits, make arrangements for quarantine at a licensed Center for Disease Control (CDC) primate quarantine facility, and obtain confirmed bookings on a flight from Paris to the U.S. Without a doubt, this was the most complicated animal transfer we’ve organized in a long time.

But it was all worthwhile when finally in September, the nine mouse lemurs boarded a non-stop Air France flight to Chicago. At the airport, they were met by veterinary staff of the Saint Louis Zoo (SLZ), among our closest colleagues in the lemur world. SLZ had agreed to provide CDC quarantine for the animals, beginning the moment the animal crates touched down on U.S. soil (required for all primates entering the country). Our Veterinarian, Cathy Williams, assisted the Saint Louis Zoo team, helping with the physical exams on arrival and with the transition of the animals into quarantine. After a 30-day quarantine period with no health problems, the mouse lemurs boarded another flight from Saint Louis to Durham. With much excitement ,relief, and exclamations all around about how incredibly cute these tiny creatures are, we welcomed them to the DLC on October 15th.

The mouse lemurs are now housed in our Nocturnal Building, under the expert care of technicians Bevan Clark, Beth Grim and Rebecca Borns. Their special diet consists of crushed primate chow, diced fruits and veggies, crickets and mealworms. We have great hopes that spring will bring successful breeding, with infants born in the summer after a short gestation period of only two months. This breeding program is critical for the DLC’s research and conservation goals for nocturnal lemurs, and also for the future survival of mouse lemurs in all of North America. Before we obtained these young mouse lemurs, the species was dying out in captive programs because the few remaining animals were too old to reproduce. So raise a glass- of French wine if you’d like- to welcome the new mouse lemurs to the DLC!

Hear! Hear! Here's to lemur ears!

by Dr. Sarah Zehr
We often make the assumption that the animals around us hear things in the same way we do, yet there are common examples that show that they don’t. The animal known as the human teenager, for example, with its young ears can hear a cell phone ringtone that is at a frequency that most adults, with their aging ears, cannot hear. What, then, does an animal of an entirely different species hear? Marissa Ramsier and Andy Cunningham, of Nate Dominy’s lab at UC Santa Cruz wanted to know. Having already studied the hearing of many other primate species, a trip to the DLC was obviously in order to find out how prosimian primates hear. They made multiple visits and tested the hearing of many of our species, including both nocturnal and diurnal animals. They are still analyzing their data, which should provide an interesting complement to the many vocalization studies that have been conducted over the years.
Of course we care about lemurs in general, but this project also made some fascinating discoveries about some of our individual animals in particular. First, as any of you who have been on the tour path know, the air handling unit by the main building can be quite loud. We were concerned that being near it constantly may have damaged the hearing of animals who live in nearby enclosures. So we tested their hearing. Much to our relief, there were no differences between their hearing and the hearing of other animals of the same species who do not live close to the air unit. It may be that the sound frequency of the equipment, which we find very loud and annoying, is not one that is as prominent in the range of hearing of lemurs.
Although there was no hearing loss in those lemurs, when the hearing of two of our lorises was tested (one slow loris, Lahkshmani, and one pygmy slow loris, Skimmer), they were found to be almost completely deaf! Which explained a lot. Such as why Lahkshmani, who is in our animal training program and is supposed to respond to a whistle, has been terrible at training. She simply couldn’t hear the signal. Knowing the auditory limitations of these two animals will allow us to better care for them. In addition, the fact that the only two animals to show significant hearing loss are lorises may be an indication that there is something interesting about their physiology. Or maybe it’s just coincidence. In any case, the moral of the story is that the research conducted here not only enlightens us about prosimians as a whole, but it can also help us learn about special characteristics of the animals who live at the DLC.

Remembering Luisa

A series of emails….

I first met Luisa when she contacted me with an interest to become a volunteer at the Duke Lemur Center. We were scheduled to meet at a new volunteer orientation. The orientation came and went, but Luisa was not there. I received an email that night informing me that she and her bike had a long, unexpected hour together!

I am sorry, but I couldn't find the center. I thought I had the right instructions, but I spent almost an hour riding my bike from cameron blvd to erwin rd and back again, with no cellphone.
The worst part is that I just took a look in the map and I was pretty close to the center.


I emailed her back and let her know that she is not the first to have a hard time finding the Center. We are tucked away in the forest with no signs to direct a lost biker.

The next time we were scheduled to meet, Luisa took a cab. From the moment I met her she had a huge smile on her face and was very excited to be at the Center. During our meeting she told me about herself and that she was an exchange student from Brazil. During an orientation I generally go over the volunteer requirements at the beginning of the meeting. However, Luisa and I got to talking and it was not until the end of our meeting that I mentioned the required 6 month commitment to the volunteer program for all new volunteers. Luisa informed me that she would be leaving in December. After talking with Luisa for 45 minutes, it was obvious that she was very excited to help the lemurs and was ready to work! Making an exception was an easy decision.

While the volunteer program only requires volunteers to complete one 4 hour shift a week, Luisa did two shifts a week. Starting in September, she reliably volunteered her time on Monday and Wednesday mornings. In early November she asked to come in for two Sunday shifts. The two extra shifts would earn her a “Lemur Experience”. A “Lemur Experience” is awarded to a volunteer after they complete 16 shifts. The experience is designed for the volunteer to choose what aspect of DLC they want to learn more about – It generally takes 4 months to earn a “Lemur Experience”…Luisa did it in two months.

So, with my two extra Sunday shifts I'll be able to complete 17 shifts. Not bad for two months of work, hun? hahahaha

I would like to talk to you about my Lemur Experience, because I am afraid we won't have time to do anything...what do you think? My family arrives Sunday December 13th, and my last work day will be the Wednesday 9th. I can't believe it's only 3 weeks away! I've already talked to Keith about a tour on the 14th, before we start our trip across the east coast. I am glad I'll be going home soon, but I'll miss the Center so much...


In my reply, I suggested a few ideas including getting her picture with a lemur. I ended with,

Thank you so much for all of the time that you have given to the Center.
We are sad to see you go....I hope to see you during your last week.



Luisa replied,

Hey!

I'll miss everybody at the center...I feel so useful there! And everybody is always happy, and the lemurs are so cuuute! hahaha I guess people that live around animals are special.

There are no groups free-ranging now, are there? I really would like to see them in the wild. I'll read the manual and see if there's any particular experience I would like to have, but the idea of taking a picture with the lemurs is good too! It's something I can keep forever...


Right before Thanksgiving, Luisa asked me to write up “some kind of proof that I volunteered on the center, like a letter for example, something simple, short.”

On the Monday after Thanksgiving I wrote her back,

Hi Luisa,

Sure, I would be glad to write up something. Can I beg that you stay??? I will have it printed up and give it to Erin. I am sorry that I will not see you in person before you go. I will meet with Erin tomorrow and see if she can get you to as many training sessions as possible on Wednesday!!!! I will also check with David H. regarding a picture.
Thank you soooo much for all of the time you have given to the center. You will be missed!

I did not find out until the next day that Luisa was killed on Sunday. As I write this, the reality is still as shocking as the moment I tried to understand the words in front of me as I scanned a newspaper article that had respectfully been brought to me to inform me of the tragedy.

Luisa asked for a letter to acknowledge that she had volunteered at the Duke Lemur Center. This is my letter to her friends and family to acknowledge that Luisa did more then volunteer at DLC. She made us smile. She worked hard. She spread her enthusiasm and passion for the animals. She will be greatly missed.

Meg Dye
Volunteer Coordinator

Remembering Luisa

"I miss her."

Ask anyone at Duke Lemur Center about Luisa Sartori, and that is the answer you are likely to receive. We knew Luisa was leaving. The plan was that she would return to her native Brazil. We knew we wouldn't see her several times a week as we had this past semester. She was a Duke student and a Technician's Assistant at the Lemur Center.

We knew we wouldn't see her regularly, but we thought we would be able to see her, if we took her up on that often extended invitation to come visit her and see her beloved Brazil.

One moment in time, one fender bender from which everyone else walked away, changed all that. Luisa, sitting in the back seat, wearing her seat belt (no alcohol or drugs involved on anyone's part,) lost her life in that moment.

Duke Lemur Center lost a good friend - a bright, beautiful, bubbly, young woman, who was passionate about lemurs, about the Lemur Center, about conservation, and about Brazil.

We miss her.

We invite you to join us in remembering Luisa Sartori.

Duke Lemur Center & Malagasy Vets Collaborate

After the usual months of preparation, 2 veterinarians have arrived from Madagascar and started training here at the Duke Lemur Center. Dr. Haja Rakotondrainibe and Dr. Hery Rakotoarivelo arrived in Durham on Oct. 3 and will be in the US, mostly with us here at DLC, for 2 months. The young veterinarians have a particular interest in wildlife medicine, which is why we have brought them here to learn more about taking care of lemurs. They have been observing and working with DLC veterinarians Dr. Cathy Williams and Dr. Bobby Schopler. In addition to working with Cathy and Bobby, Haja and Hery participated in a 2 week training program for international vets at NC State Veterinary School in Raleigh. There they gained experience with a wider array of animals, including tortoises, which will be useful for their work in Madagascar. At present Haja and Hery are in St. Louis where they are working at the zoo with Dr. Randy Junge and his team. After 10 days they will return to DLC for a final week and a half of intensive work before heading back to Madagascar.
Of course we don’t want Haja and Hery’s visit to the US to be all about work. In their off time they are getting to experience a few of our special offerings and pass-times such as NC Bar-B-Que, and American football. And of course Halloween! After one Halloween costume party, and helping answer the door on Halloween night, they have learned more than a bit about the less serious side of American life!

Want to know more about lemurs and Madagascar?

Duke Lemur Center is unique. This facility not only houses the largest collection of lemurs outside of Madagascar, it offers unparalleled opportunities for research, and it serves as an interactive classroom and a resource for Duke University.



Our unique Center studies animals which are even more unique and come from one of the most singular places in the world. Our director, Dr. Anne Yoder is featured in the linked video. She discusses the history and importance of Madagascar, lemurs, and the work done at Duke Lemur Center.

Lemurs here and in Madagascar may live oceans apart, but they are tied by a common heritage, shared science, and common goals for conservation.

Duke School Students help Duke Lemur Center

The following are articles written by Duke School 5th grade students about their visit to Duke Lemur Center

Duke Lemur Center: A service learning project
An Introduction to the Lemur Center
By Charlotte Buck

On Monday September 28 the fifth grade went to the Duke Lemur Center. While we were walking over we spent time estimating the amount of trash we would pick up. Some people guessed fifty pieces and others guessed five but everyone was so excited! Our
new Duke School teacher, Laura, has wanted to go but never had a chance.

We had a wonderful introduction by Charlie Welch about Madagascar and the lemurs that live there. We also talked about the main goals of the lemur center which are: Research, Conservation, and Education. They are also home to 215 animals, 204 of which are lemurs.

After the slide show I had an opportunity to talk to Emma Thorp who believed that they are trying very hard and succeeding.


Facts about Lemurs
By Taylor Marshall

Grade 5 was on their way to the Duke Lemur Center as I asked a question to some
of the students. “How many pieces of trash do you think you’ll pick up?” I asked.
“5 or 6”, Casey said.
“I think 7”, Cammie added.
“15”, said Sarah.
We picked up six bags of trash in
total.

Once we got to the Lemur Center we found out that out of the 22 species of lemurs at the Lemur Shelter. The aye-aye is the most popular lemur. There are 204 lemurs at the center. There was a lot of amazing facts although there were a few facts that stood out more then others. Some of the ones that I thought stood out were:
• The lemurs in Madagascar most likly rafted from Africa to get there.
• There are 70 different species of lemurs in Madagascar.

Stay tuned for the next report of the
Duke Lemur Center.

Live in the Durham, NC Area? Want to help Lemurs?

VolunteerFest 09
October 28, 2009

Please come join us at our first VolunteerFest! This is an opportunity for you to meet other Technician Assistants (TAs) and learn more about the Duke Lemur Center. In addition, we will have an All TA Meeting to discuss and plan the future of the program.

This is a unique experience only being offered to our TAs and those who are interested in learning more about our program. Please help spread the word and extend the invitation to friends and other students who may be interested in becoming involved with DLC.

We look forward to seeing you! Please rsvp to meg@amrstaff.com by 10/26/09

VolunteerFest 09

3:00 Facility Tour, Keith Morris, Education Manager

3:45 Opening, Dr. Anne Yoder, Director

4:30 Break

4:45 Madagascar Conservation, Charlie Welch, Conservation Coordinator

5:10 DLC Breeding Program, Andrea Katz, Colony Manager

5:25 Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Cathy Williams, Senior Veterinarian

5:45 Lemur Research, Dr. Sarah Zehr, Research Coordinator

6:15 Break (Pizza and drinks provided)

6:45 Technician Assistant Meeting, Meg Dye, Behavioral Management Coordinator

Duke Lemur Center draws researchers from across the nation and around the world

What’s with all the Canadians? Duke Lemur Center seems to have been inundated by researchers from the Great White North this summer. And it can’t just be the weather, as I hear tell it’s quite pleasant there this time of year. Let’s see if I can even name them all: Dr. Kathleen Muldoon, a Canadian researcher based at Dartmouth University, was here studying energy expenditure in our free-ranging ring-tailed lemurs. Dr. Tracy Kivell, a Canadian who has been a postdoctoral researcher here in Duke’s Evolutionary Anthropology department, has been intensively collecting data on aye-aye locomotion all summer before she heads off to a new research position at the Max Plank Institute in Germany. Drs. Sergio and Vivian Pellis came down from the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada (though I should mention that they are Canadians from Australia) to study rough and tumble play in our infants. One of our long-term Canadian researchers, Dr. Marylene Boulet, has been a post doc at Duke studying olfactory communication in ring-tailed lemurs, but she returned to Canada late in the summer to take a research position there. Even the Canadian Discovery Channel was here to film some aye-aye locomotion research for a segment on the show “The Daily Planet”.

And Canada isn’t the only far-off land from which our researchers hail. Masters student Lucy Todd from Roehampton University in London (though she is actually Scottish) is also here recording Sifaka vocalizations, and Dr. Lap Ki Chan made the trip from Hong Kong to study how lorises reach from one substrate to another as they travel.

While we are very proud of our international appeal, let’s not forget our visiting researchers from the good old US of A! Dr. Jandy Hanna from West Virginia School of Medicine has spent much of the summer here studying lemur locomotion, Tess McLoud, a student at Dartmouth, came down to observe ring-tailed lemur infant-male interactions, and Peter Flynn, a high school student from New York who is part of the Intel Mentorship Program, spent all of July collecting data on ring-tailed lemur foraging. Gini Dawkins from Hunter College in New York recently paid a visit to document play behavior in sifakas and red-ruffed lemurs, and Dr. Matt O’Neill, from SUNY Stonybrook, made two trips to the DLC this summer, collaborating with both Dr. Hanna and Dr. Muldoon.

Dr. Roshna Wunderlich, a frequent year-round visitor from James Madison University, made several appearances over the summer to continue her study of sifaka locomotion, Dr. Chris Mercer from Northwestern University will make his third annual visit to do alarm call playback experiments later this month, and Dr. David Hollar, from UNC, will be making the long journey from Chapel Hill to observe and document how ring-tailed lemur groups interact and how they use their environments.

Summertime for some means more downtime, and this is particularly true for students and academics, who tend to have reduced class and teaching responsibilities. Many researchers take this opportunity to travel to the field or to other institutions (such as the DLC) to gather data not accessible to them at home. Which is all well and good but leaves me now, at the end of the summer, in desperate need of a vacation. Perhaps I’ll go to Canada.

Duke Lemur Center helps lemurs in Madagascar as well as those here in NC

The on-going political crisis in Madagascar is impacting more than just the human element in that unique island country. The forests and animals there are suffering as well (see a letter published in Nature by DLC researcher Meredith Barret et al). Instability and chaos that are by-products of political turbulence in Madagascar, as anywhere, will always provide opportunities for those who seek to take advantage of the situation. In this particular case, precious hardwoods are being illegally cut and stolen from some of Madagascar’s protected areas, to be sold for enormous profits.

The removal of the trees is in itself a regrettable loss, but such activities are often accompanied by killing or capturing of animals for food or trade. To make matters worse, attitudes of trespass into protected areas can be difficult to change once started, leading to a domino effect of environmental damage which is tough to slow down. In the end the entire ecosystem suffers.

Duke Lemur Center supporters wanted to help. Their dollars are making a difference. The Reserve of Betampona, a project site of the Madagascar Fauna Group (MFG) of which the Lemur Center is a Managing Member, was having problems with increased levels of illegal cutting and other illicit activities in the reserve. The Lemur Center worked with its donors to direct support to the urgent need of increased protection efforts at Betampona.

But what exactly does it mean to “increase protection”? The first and most obvious step is to increase patrols in the reserve by MFG Conservation Agents. Although they have no true authority to do more than report infractions, the mere presence of personnel in the reserve is a strong deterrent. Infractions are down, although not yet completely eliminated. Still, habitat and animals in Betampona are safer because donors and the DLC are working directly with the people in Madagascar.

The most important path to protecting Betampona is to convince the local people that it is in their interest to maintain the forest in its natural state. Without local support, there is no long-term solution. People are the key. To this end, part of the funds donated to Duke Lemur Center were used to help our partner, the MFG increase funding for reforestation activities, working in collaboration with villagers in the area surrounding the reserve. This collaboration means that there is more contact and interaction with local people, which builds trust and relationships.

There are now three tree nurseries around Betampona which are tended by villagers. They receive MFG funding for tending to the nurseries and then planting out the trees in a ‘buffer zone’ around the reserve. Education is another way to reach out to local people. The MFG-sponsored Saturday Class program at nearby Ambodiriana village offers educational advantages to local students. The program stresses environmental education as well as reinforcing core subjects. Discussions are underway to expand the Saturday Class program around the reserve.

The generosity of Duke Lemur Center donors is having a great impact on some of the most endangered forests on the planet. You can help, too.

Make a gift on-line at lemur.duke.edu or send a check to Duke Lemur Center/3705 Erwin Rd. /Durham, NC 27705/

Duke Lemur Center volunteers share their love for lemurs with the public

Giving tours comes naturally to George Kolasa. For 24 years he worked in the Duke University Accounting Department, and every time he had new employees join his staff, he would give them a tour of Duke. George enjoyed sharing Duke’s history and interesting tidbits of information about the institution. He would always end with the Lemur Center. He said, “Duke is so big. I didn’t want people to miss this unique opportunity.”

Now George is semi-retired – and as busy as ever. He approaches his volunteer efforts with the same eye for detail and willingness to share that he did during his days in Duke Accounting. Once George started serving as a docent at the Lemur Center, he put together a massive binder of facts and anecdotes about Madagascar and about lemurs and other prosimian primates. He likes to be able to target his audience and adapt his presentation to the group in front of him. George says, “The kids want to see the lemurs. Adults want more detail. I like to be able to pick and choose what will interest the group I’m with.” Judging from the faces of the groups George leads, he does that very well!