Aye-aye Pod

Description: Over the last few years, Aye-aye Pod co-host Matt Borths has been part of a paleontology team exploring an exciting new fossil site called Topernawi, which is near Lake Turkana in northern Kenya. But, aren’t lemurs from Madagascar? What’s a Lemur Center paleontologist doing in Kenya? In this episode, co-host Megan McGrath turns the interview spotlight on Matt to figure out if he’s lan...

In this episode of Aye-aye Pod, we discuss a truly incredible little lemur with evolutionary superpowers: the fat-tailed dwarf lemur! Dwarf lemurs are the only members of our primate family tree that are obligate hibernators. Tune in for a crash course in what makes these hibernating primates so fascinating and how the DLC’s non-harmful research into their unique adaptations could have far-r...

Aye-aye Pod is back! In this episode, we cover what’s kept us away, what you can expect in future episodes, and what happens at the Duke Lemur Center as we transition into cooler weather. Tune in with your hosts Megan and Matt for a behind-the-scenes discussion of what it takes to free-range lemurs to leap, snack, and snooze in large forest habitats, a gross-but-cool (grool?) ring-tailed lem...

With nearly 40 years of experience working in Madagascar conservation (15 of which were spent living in Madagascar), Charlie Welch has an incredible wealth of wisdom to share. In this episode, we learn about the origins of the Duke Lemur Center’s conservation work in Madagascar. Then, we dive into the incredible story of 13 black and white ruffed lemurs that were released back into the wild betwee...

The fossil record of Madagascar is incredible. There are unicorn-horned meat-eating dinosaurs, colossal flightless birds, and lemurs the size of gorillas. Dr. Noromamy Rahanaharivao is a paleontologist in Madagascar who is excavating her country’s past biodiversity. She’s done research on monkey-like Archaeolemur and has searched flooded caves of Tsimanampetsotsa National Park for the remain...

Forests are complicated places, and the species inhabiting forests are dependent on each other in a complex network that we call ecology. Camille Desisto is an ecologist and graduate student at Duke University, and she studies the interactions between plants and lemurs in Madagascar and at the Duke Lemur Center. Specifically, Camille looks at the lemur role of seed disperser—eating fruit and leavi...

So how smart are lemurs, exactly? How do we even start to figure that out? Meet Ray Vagell, researcher and graduate student from Texas State University who uses SMARTA (a custom-designed touch screen system) to study how lemurs solve problems at the Duke Lemur Center. We also discuss the fun – but mysterious – fact that only female ruffed lemurs have color vision. Ray also uses SMARTA to study ruf...

Dr. Andrea Baden and her team have spent a lot of time in the rainforests of eastern Madagascar learning about the social lives of ruffed lemurs. In this episode, she shares why it takes a village to run a ruffed lemur kindergarten, how art photography led to her career in primatology, and how ruffed lemurs adapted to climate change. Socially, ruffed lemurs are one of the weirdest lemurs out there...

This week, we’re chatting with one of our wonderful colleagues Madison Armand about her role as a primate technician (our version of a zookeeper here at the Duke Lemur Center). Madison shares what it takes to be a fantastic primate technician, why she particularly enjoys working with ruffed lemurs, and how the DLC animal care team stays up-to-date on the science of animal welfare to provide our le...

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 eve...

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 conservati...

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 Anthropology, a researcher at the Duke Lemur Center, and a mo...

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 answer all of our sifaka population management questions.  Links to Learn More: Read a D...

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 themselves up in a tree, all to sort out the origin...

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 Center.   Links to learn more:  Follow Lydia on Instagram   Read...

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:  Watch Melanie in action with Pompeia and Francesca   The post S3E2 – A Lot...

Welcome to season three of Aye-aye Pod. We’re finally getting to the lemur that everyone falls in love with when they visit the Duke Lemur Center: sifakas! We’ll introduce you to these bouncy leaf-munchers who had a starring role in Zoboomafoo. We’ll also dig into their amazing diversity in Madagascar and explore the northwestern forests that Coquerel’s sifakas call home.   Links to learn more:  ...

In the final episode of our season on ring-tailed lemurs, Matt and Megan are joined by biological anthropologist, paleontologist, and primatologist Dr. Laurie Godfrey. Laurie’s decades-long career searching for fossils and the causes of extinction has taken her across the entire island of Madagascar. In this interview she takes us on a journey through the history of the ring-tailed lemur&#82...

If you’ve read Allison Jolly’s quintessential book Lords and Lemurs , or perhaps you’ve watched the Island of the Lemurs IMAX film, then you already know this week’s guest. Matt and Megan had the privilege of interviewing Professor Hantanirina Rasamimanana, or Hanta, as she prefers to be called. In addition to decades of studying ring-tailed lemurs in their natural habitat,...

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...

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 epis...

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. Li...

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 f...

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 th...

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. Ho...