Name: Duke Lemur Center
Address: 3705 Erwin Rd, Durham, NC, 27705, US
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

Alina Paveleva 4 months 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 ❤️
Cat 4 months 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 5 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!!!
Amy Crapo a month ago

Take the $80 tour! It’s worth it!!! You’re paying for the care of these animals and they are treated very well! My husband brought me in the tour as a surprise and we had a blast! It was hot but we brought water so it was fine! The staff are very knowledgeable and sweet! The tour is very informative and fun! You get to be up close with the lemurs but there is no contact. We had so much fun and can’t wait to come back!
Todd Miller a month ago

Took the private walking tour into the forest. Was an awesome experience! Saw a lot of Lemurs, cloudy day and not so hot so it was a perfect day to visit! Our tour guide was great with a lot of knowledge!