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Help Name the Lemur Mascot

Cast your vote and name the oversized ring-tailed lemur

By Marsha A. Green

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The Lemur Center mascot in action at the Duke Fall Activities Fair during the first week of classes. Photo courtesy of Joel Bray.

What do you call a 6-foot lemur with a 3-foot-long tail? 

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That's what the Duke Lemur Center wants to know.

The Lemur Center recently purchased a new ring-tailed lemur mascot costume for local events. But when the mascot made his debut at the premier of the movie Madagascar 3 at The Streets at Southpoint, nobody knew what to call him.

"People kept calling out, `what's his name, what's his name?'" said Niki Barnett, manager of education programs at the Lemur Center. "But we hadn't thought one up."

The Lemur Center staff launched a social media campaign to solicit names for the mascot and have narrowed the names to four. They want your help and ask that you vote for your favorite:

  • Maky ("ring-tailed lemur" in Malagasy, the language of Madagascar)
  • Mahafatifaty ("cute" in Malagasy)
  • Angatra ("spirit" in Malagasy)
  • Maddie (short for Madagascar)

The deadline to vote is Sept. 14.

Barnett said the Lemur Center had the ring-tailed lemur costume custom made by the International Fun-Shop in Texas, which specializes in making mascot costumes.

"We had to send pictures and have several telephone consults because they had never made a lemur costume before," she said.

Lemur Center employees and student researchers are volunteering to wear the costume at functions around Duke and in the community to help raise awareness of the presence of the Lemur Center. The mascot's next outing will be at the Career Fair at the Bryan Center on Sept. 12.

"There are people at Duke and folks who have lived in Durham all their lives who still don't know that the Lemur Center exists," Barnett said. "But a 6-foot tall lemur running around definitely helps with the exposure."