Why Do You Study That? How Lemur Research Can Help Endangered Species

Research scientists Marina Blanco, Ph.D. and Lydia Greene, Ph.D. study lemurs at the Duke Lemur Center in Durham, North Carolina (home to the largest population of lemurs outside of Madagascar). Some people might assume that they do this just to hang out with these adorable primates all day, but the truth is that this research could be critical to the survival of some of the world’s most endangered mammals.

Although they study quite different species of lemurs (Blanco studies a hibernating dwarf lemur while Greene specializes in Coquerel’s Sifaka), this married couple support each other as a research team.

By studying the lives of lemurs both at the Duke Lemur Center and in Madagascar, Blanco and Greene hope to answer fundamental questions about our distant primate cousins.

You can learn more about the Duke Lemur Center at https://lemur.duke.edu/ Mouse lemur drawing and Sifaka drawings by Sally Bornbusch.

Propithecus coquereli image by Terpsichores.