Lemurs bring the party at Duke University

While UNC may have bested Duke in sports this year, the Blue Devils have one advantage over the Tar Heels – they have lemurs.

Luckily, those lemurs will be accessible to everyone — regardless of which university they root for — this Saturday for the Duke Lemur Center’s fifth bi-annual Lemurpalooza.

The event will be held at the Duke Lemur Center, which currently houses 240 lemurs from 13 different species.

Janice Kalin, a Duke Lemur Center employee and the Lemurpalooza manager, said the Center is grateful for its wide variety of lemur species.

“We are so lucky in the Triangle because this is the largest collection of lemurs outside of their native Madagascar,” said Kalin.

Although Duke Lemur Center holds scheduled tours each week, where guests can pay to see the lemurs around the center, Lemurpalooza is known as a special event at the Duke Lemur Center and is only held twice a year.

Chris Smith, Kalin’s colleague at the Duke Lemur Center, said he thinks Lemurpalooza is the most interactive event the center holds.

“Lemurpalooza is the biggest lemur party this side of Madagascar,” said Smith.

The party, which is usually sold out, includes a DJ, fun activities for kids, food trucks, and of course, lemurs.

Lemurpalooza — which is priced at $50 per vehicle — allows guests to see 10 of the 13 species housed at the center. Vehicles can be filled with as many or as few people as the participants wish. It also includes a lemur “adoption,” where each party can pick a lemur to sponsor and receive weekly updates on their adopted lemur.

Unfortunately, adopted lemurs cannot be taken home after the event has come to an end.

Smith said this event also educates the public. He said lemurs top the threatened mammals list, which makes conservation of the 110 different species a very important issue.

“We are moving the veil on scientific research and wildlife conservation,” Smith said.

In an effort to bridge the gap between kids and the underlying science of lemurs, Lemurpalooza added the “Meet a Scientist” program this year. Parents and their children will be able to walk up to a scientist, ask them questions, and discuss lemurs in a non-judgmental, one-on-one environment.

“For the first time for Lemurpalooza, we are really making these people accessible to the public,” Smith said “This is a cool learning opportunity, especially for young audiences.”

A Duke Lemur Center conservationist, Charles Welch communicates with other scientists and community members in Madagascar year-round after living in the country off the coast of Africa for 15 years.

He now visits the country three times a year to educate people there on how they can help conserve their forests and animal life.

Welch said he wants Lemurpalooza to help people — especially children — learn about and understand the importance of conservation.

“We want our conservation message to go beyond Madagascar and on the other side of the world, but especially young people, we want them to think about conservation locally as well,” said Welch.

arts@dailytarheel.com