Aye-aye Pod – Details, episodes & analysis

This season we’re leaping into the world of ruffed lemurs – beautiful lemurs with big personalities. In this episode, we discuss the basics of the two species in the Varecia genus – black and white ruffed lemurs and red ruffed lemurs. This is our longest season yet, full of fascinating interviews with ruffed lemur caretakers, researchers, and conservationists, so be sure to subscribe and catch every episode! 

Black and white ruffed lemur fact sheet (webpage) – CLICK HERE

Red ruffed lemur fact sheet (webpage) – CLICK HERE

Virtual Tour Episode 6: Ruffed Lemurs (video) – CLICK HERE

Transcript of this episode – CLICK HERE

The post S4E1 Beautiful Beards: Meet the Ruffed Lemurs first appeared on Duke Lemur Center.

We are wrapping up our sifaka season with Malagasy scientist and conservationist, Mamy Razafitsalama. Mamy’s work in and around Ankarafantsika National Park, which serves as critical habitat for Coquerel’s sifakas in the wild, recently earned him the 2023 Whitley Award for conservation. We were so honored to hear about Mamy’s work studying sifakas in the wild and leading community-based conservation to protect the habitat Coquerel’s sifakas call home. 

Links to learn more: 

• Watch Sir David Attenborough presenting Mamy as the 2023 Whitley Award Winner 
• Planet Madagascar 
• Live from Madagascar with Planet Madagascar 

The post S3E7 – Keep Doing the Hard Work first appeared on Duke Lemur Center.

What does it take to care for ring-tailed lemurs a world away from their native Madagascar? Lead Primate Technician Danielle Lynch joins us to discuss the complexities of caring for ring-tailed lemurs at the Duke Lemur Center.

Links to learn more:

• Day in the Life of a Lemur Keeper (video)
• DLC staff prepare for Hurricane Florence
• Ring-tailed lemur scent-marking and breeding season
• Ring-tailed lemur social grooming

The post S2E3 – A Day in the Life first appeared on Duke Lemur Center.

In this episode, Matt and Megan chat with professional researcher, and long-time friend and collaborator of the DLC, Sally Bornbusch, Ph.D. Sally takes us into the fascinating world of microbiomes, and how studying the microorganisms living inside of our beloved ring-tailed lemurs can help us better care for and protect endangered species like them.

Links to learn more about topics from this episode:

• Sally’s current work and recent research
• “Microbes Matter” article by Sally
• “Gut Bugs and Poop Soup” – virtual presentation by Sally
• “Poop Soup” – article on fecal transplant treatment at the DLC

The post S2E2 – Poop Science first appeared on Duke Lemur Center.

From the strangest lemur to the most recognizable – season 2 of Aye-aye Pod is all about ring-tailed lemurs! We see them in zoos around the world, on our screens in films and tv shows, but how much do we really know about these popular primates? In this episode, Matt and Megan set us up for the rest of the season with the basics of ring-tailed lemur ecology, behavior, evolution, and more.

Links to learn more about topics from this episode:

• Ring-tailed lemur info page
• IUCN Red List
• Episode 10 of our Virtual Tour

The post S2E1 – The Poster Child first appeared on Duke Lemur Center.

And… we’re back! Matt and Megan just couldn’t resist diving back in for one more discussion about our favorite primates, so we thought we’d give you a surprise final episode of our first season – just in time for the holidays! We cover everything from the aye-aye’s recent press for a gross hidden talent, to the surprising creature that shares some of the aye-ayes unique traits, to what the fossil record can (and can’t) tell us about aye-aye evolution.

Links to learn more:

• Aye-aye nose-picking in the news
• The Epic Journey of Ancient Lemurs (recorded virtual presentation)
• Propotto and Dr. Gregg Gunnell in the news
• Virtual Tour videos – Episode 2: “What Is a Lemur?” and “Episode 13: Aye-ayes”

The post S1E5 – A Series of Random Accidents first appeared on Duke Lemur Center.

As Matt and Megan recorded the first episode of this season (What Is a Lemur?), they fell down a rabbit hole and into the weird and wonderful realm of tarsiers. The several species of tarsiers living today are so fascinating and mysterious that we decided they needed their own moment in the spotlight. In this bonus episode, we’ll tackle all of the important questions. What are tarsiers? Why are they the odd-primates-out when it comes to classification? And most importantly, are they nightmare fuel or cupcake monkeys? 

Links to learn more about topics from this episode: 

• Tarsier photos
• Tarsier fact sheet
• Video of a tarsier in action

The post S1Bonus – Nightmare Cupcake first appeared on Duke Lemur Center.

Matt and Megan join two veterinary researchers in Madagascar for a long-distance discussion of aye-ayes at home. Dr. Hoby A. Rasoanaivo, research coordinator for Lemur Love, and Dr. Elodi Rambeloson, research project manager at the Anjajavy reserve, discuss their project to move wild aye-ayes from one forest to another, keeping them safe from the effects of deforestation and climate change. Hoby and Elodi also talk about how the mysterious nocturnal primate earned a dark reputation and how they educate communities in Madagascar about aye-ayes to help this endangered primate survive. 

Links to learn more about topics from this episode:

• Dr. Hoby A. Rasoanaivo’s research
• Dr. Elodi Rambeloson’s research
• Where is Anjajavy in Madagascar?
• Research paper on aye-aye translocation
• DLC Research in Anjajavy with Hoby and Elodi

The post S1E4 – Beautifully Strange first appeared on Duke Lemur Center.

At the DLC, there’s so much more to animal care than feeding lemurs and cleaning habitats. In this episode, Curator of Behavioral Management and Welfare Meg Dye and Primate Technician Jenna Browning join Matt and Megan to chat about one of our favorite 2022 babies, Binx! Through the story of Binx and his family, we’ll discuss the incredible work that goes into keeping the DLC’s aye-ayes happy and healthy through every stage of life.  

Links to learn more about topics from this episode: 

• The Value of Enrichment 
• Positive Reinforcement Training at the DLC 
• Learning from a Loss: The Story of Winifred
• Video of Winifred Leaving the Nest
• Meet Binx!

The post S1E3 A Happy Aye-aye first appeared on Duke Lemur Center.

Guest Dr. Adam Hartstone-Rose from North Carolina State University joins Matt and Megan to discuss the amazing anatomy of our favorite lemur (and podcast mascot): the aye-aye! A big fan of bizarre primates, Dr. Hartstone-Rose discusses his research journey to the DLC, how he uses living, dead, and really dead (AKA fossil) specimens to answer big questions in primate anatomy, and how he discovered the aye-aye’s extra thumb!

Note: this episode was recorded in May 2022.

Links to learn more about topics from this episode: 

• Meet the aye-aye
• The Aye-Aye’s Secret Sixth Finger: the Discovery of a Pseudothumb (video)
• News article on the pseudothumb
• Scientific article on the pseudothumb
• Aye-ayes eating eggs (video)

The post S1E2 Always the Exception first appeared on Duke Lemur Center.