
19 episodes

Aye-aye Pod Duke Lemur Center
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- Science
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5.0 • 7 Ratings
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The official podcast of the Duke Lemur Center. Your hosts, Education Programs Manager Megan McGrath and DLC Museum of Natural History Curator Matt Borths, Ph.D., are venturing into all things lemur: science, research, conservation, husbandry, Madagascar, and so much more! Each mini-season will be focused on a particular subject, and each episode will include discussions and interviews with experts to learn as much as we can about these amazing primates together. Our first season, coming in late 2022, will focus on the podcast's namesake, and your hosts' favorite primate species, the aye-aye!
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S3E7 – Keep Doing the Hard Work
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 […]
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S3E6 – Analyzing the Genomes
Sifakas are beautifully adapted to their environment. Dr. Elaine Guevara studies the source of these adaptations in the genetic code of sifakas (and other primates). Elaine shares how she traveled a complex path to get to Duke University and primate evolution – including a stop by the bug department. Now she’s a lecturer in Evolutionary […]
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S3E5 – Thinking Long-term
Why don’t you see sifakas in most zoos across the US? How do we plan which sifaka have babies, and where those babies will live? DLC Animal Curator Britt Keith not only manages the sifakas living at the DLC, but also collaborates to manage captive Coquerel’s sifakas on an international scale, and she’s here to […]
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S3E4 – Bouncy… Like Tigger
Lemurs can really move. Like jumping-dozens-of-feet-from-tree-to-tree move. Like Tigger on a trampoline move. Dr. Gabe Yapuncich is a researcher at Duke University who is fascinated by this feat of lemur feet. He’s studied lemur bones and watched living lemurs launch off force plates at the Duke Lemur Center to understand how lemurs leap and hold […]
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S3E3 – The Magic Hour
Ever wondered what a lemur that is adapted to conditions across the world in Madagascar eats in the forests of North Carolina? Dr. Lydia Greene wondered that very same thing, and in this interview, she shares new information, anecdotes, and insights she gained over years of studying Coquerel’s sifaka foraging habits at the Duke Lemur […]
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S3E2 – A Lot of Time and Attention
Who better to open this season’s interviews than someone who has spent over a decade caring for Coquerel’s sifakas? Melanie Currie has been a primate technician (AKA animal keeper) at the Duke Lemur Center for 13 years, and we’re so excited to share her insights on these amazing animals with you. Links to learn more: […]