Duke Lemur Center

The Duke Lemur Center is an 85-acre (34 ha) sanctuary for rare and endangered prosimian primates, located at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. It is the largest sanctuary for prosimian primates in the world.

The center is open to the public through tours, for which visitors must make an appointment.

History

In 1966, a prosimian colony of approximately 90 individuals, belonging to John Buettner-Janusch, was relocated from the Center for Prosimian Biology at Yale University to Duke University, creating 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 (DUPC), the center's name was changed in April 2006 after a refocusing of the scientific goals and overall mission. Specimens from its scientific collection may thus be assigned the code DPC.

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."