Some long overdue DLC updates: The last white-fronted lemur (Eulemur albifrons) at the center was a female named Deborah. She died in 2014 and I believe she was the last of her species in America. She was born in 1980. As most members on the site are aware, the last Verreaux's sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi) outside Madagascar also lived at DLC. I believe it was also in 2014, but I don't have as much info. A recent Facebook post by the Center makes it seem as if there are no longer red-bellied lemurs (Eulemur rubriventer) at the center, but it's hard to tell if they were just describing the death of two different individuals or of the last two individuals. Here is the exact wording: If so, I believe the species would now be absent in America, though they are abundant in Europe. Another rarity at the Center is the lone Sanford's lemur (Eulemur sanfordi). It's the last one outside Madagascar and is quite old. I'm hoping it lasts a while longer so I can go see it. The Center's last slender loris (Loris tardigradus), 1.0 Abu, passed away in 2014. Happier news: At least one mongoose lemur was born about a month ago. 12 blue-eyed black lemurs were born since 2010. 3.0 grey mouse lemurs (Cholulu, Barley, and Hops) were born July 8th.
that seems unlikely, given the large number of holders listed on Zootierliste, and that there are still (apparently) two in Australia as well.
Sorry about the white fronted lemur mix-up. I used a bad source... Should have checked all the species on Zootierliste while I was looking at red-bellied. I'll fix that right now.
without looking any further than this quote, it reads to me like they are saying that Dido is still alive. And there were five further offspring from that pair after Hopi which aren't referenced for being dead or alive. I think they are basically just saying that two lemurs - Hopi and Mohawk - died in 2015.
I think you're right, but their FB posts seem to be a bit vague. Here's the one about Deborah, white-fronted lemur: While it doesn't say anything about her infants, she was the last at the Center according to the website (which is horribly outdated, and claims she's still alive). The wording for the red bellied lemur post does make it sound like Dido is alive, though. Their website has nothing on how many red bellied lemurs they have.
One correction. It was the last diademed sifaka (Propithecus diadema) outside of Madagascar. He died in 2012, and I was lucky enough to see him (and even take a couple half-decent pictures) in 2011. The DLC also used to have the only golden-crowned siafakas (Propithecus tattersalli) outside of Madagascar (a small colony was maintained between 1988 and 2008). So prior to 2008 the DLC was the only place outside Madagascar where one could see three(!) species of sifaka
Right you are- I think I mixed that up because I had been looking up info about several species of sifaka before and during making this post, so my brain had been overflowing a bit . I've been trying to learn more about lemurs lately. Thanks for pointing that out!
You are welcome. It's unfortunate that we are down to a single sifaka species in the US. At least Coquerel's seem to be doing all right, and it was DLC, I believe, that figured out how to make them thrive in zoos
How rare / common is this species in the USA - I know the following collections have / had (?) them : -San Francisco -Philadelphia -Racine -Como Park -Indianapolis -Los Angeles -Oakland Does the Duke Center already has some Blue-eyed lemurs in its collection or will be these their firsts ?
According to DLC, there are ten institutions with 28 animals (total in USA). DLC "currently" (website is outdated) has 10.3, including the only two breeding females in America (12 successful births since 2010!). They are all descended from 2.5 wild caught lemurs that were imported in 1985 and 1990. Another zoo with them is the Cameron Park Zoo, though I visited quite a bit and never saw them. Edit- cross posted with Chlidonias
Thank you very much Chlidonias and jayjds2 ! Only 2 breeding females on a population of 28 animals is really not much so hopefully the new animals from Madagascar can give a new impuls to the N-A population !
I'm not sure how current the "only two breeding females" is. I found a 2013 press release by Duke saying they have three breeding females, and in 2014 Oakland got a new female to form a breeding pair. Not sure on the status of those now though. I also found a page from January 2016 (about Joel Satore's photos) saying there are 21 individuals in the USA.
I have to ask again, because I thought they still had two males. If they do indeed have a female, then breeding has been unsuccessful because they still only have the two (and five ringtails). SF Zoo has three animals if I remember correctly, all boys.
