Name: Duke Lemur Center
Telephone: (919) 401-7240

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Phone: (919) 401-7240

Directions 4.7

Deep in the heart of the Duke Forest lies the Duke Lemur Center (DLC), a sprawling 100-acre complex that houses over 200 lemurs across 14 different species. Founded in 1966, the DLC is open to the public and educates more than 35,000 visitors annually. Its highly successful conservation breeding program seeks to preserve vanishing species, and its Madagascar Conservation Programs study and protect lemurs, the world’s most endangered group of mammals. Tours are available by appointment in the warmer months, typically May-September.

Google Rating

4.7

Pixie Rolleston 6 months ago

A lovely little place that I wish more people knew about! Not only is this a place where lemurs live comfortably and can be viewed by the public during tours, but it is also an extensive, non-invasive research facility working to gain knowledge on these fuzzy, lovable primates. My boyfriend and I went on the self-guided tour together back in September. You're going to want to make sure it's tour season and then buy tickets online. There are different levels of tours, with the self-guided ones being the cheapest (although there are still some volunteers there to answer any questions you have and to make sure the lemurs are safe and such).

The tour guides are very friendly, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable, and the lemurs seem happy and healthy. (They are held to a very high standard of care, and they're allowed to free-range in outdoor enclosures from time to time.) I enjoyed walking around, reading the very informative and visually pleasing signs, looking at the lemurs, and asking questions to the tour guides. The mongoose lemurs and the crowned lemurs have such sweet faces, and it's cute how they groom each other. (Note that the nocturnal lemurs have their own specialized habitat with low lighting, and you have to be VERY quiet and avoid shining lights at them; this is for their health and well-being!)

Their visitor center has a wide variety of souvenirs with which you can commemorate your visit (and support a good cause), from T-shirts and stuffed lemurs to polished ammonite fossils and Duke Lemur Center magazines. Everything was very tidy, and the cashier was friendly. There is also a small room in the visitor center with some lemur skulls on display and some biographies of women in STEM. It's nice to think that young girls might see those displays and be inspired by them to pursue STEM careers.

Overall, I enjoyed visiting. It definitely increased my appreciation for lemurs and increased my awareness of the threats they face. Apparently there is also a Duke Lemur Center Museum of Natural History at a separate location on Broad Street in Durham, but the hours it's open to the public are different and limited. I will have to check that out sometime as well!
Alina Paveleva a month ago

Oh my god, where do I start? We visited the behind the scenes lemur tour as a group of 4, and it was one of the best experiences of our lives. Getting to see lemurs in their natural habitat, watching them do their lemur things just a few feet away from us, was incredible.

Our guide, Anna, was absolutely amazing – so knowledgeable, engaging, and clearly passionate about what she does. The 2 hours completely flew by, and I would have happily stayed even longer.

Thank you for such an unforgettable experience ❤️
Rich Kahn 2 months ago

Reportedly the largest collection of Lemur species outside of Madagascar. Cages make the lemurs a bit difficult to see. Good educational materials are available, and volunteers, a few more knowledgeable than most, are everywhere.
Cat a month ago

Wonderful tour, you can tell they really put the well-being of the animals atop the priority list. Jillian was a wonderful tour guide superer knowledge and friendly. Absolutely recommend this if you are visiting the area and interested in learning about lemurs.
Vae 3 months ago

I had a recent behind the scenes tour here, and it was one of the best experiences of my life! My absolute favorite animal is the aye-aye, and I got exactly what I wanted from this experience! When booking online, you can let the team know what you would like to see and so they can curate a tour based on your interests (this feature is most likely specific to specific tour types, experiment to find out)! My tour guide was Abby (I really hope I remembered her name correctly my memory is horrible, please if i’m wrong correct this), and she came up with something so creative!

First off, if you think you’re directly interacting with or touch any of the lemurs, this is absolutely NOT the case. Do not expect going into this that you get to pet your favorite lemur, it’s not good for them to be that level of domesticated.

Now the great stuff: we went through a full habitat with three different species of lemur, got to see them all run to eat, and saw a bunch of nocturnal lemurs too!! With the personal star of the show being the aye-ayes of course! Abby came up with the idea to include me on getting the aye-aye’s treats ready! We made these neat honey/peanut butter treats for two different aye-ayes! Then we took them directly to them and watched them dig into them! These videos may be good, BUT, in person is just so much more special!! I’ll never forget this one-of-a-kind experience, and i hope i can come back again! Thank you to the whole team!!!