Duke Lemur Center — Attraction in Durham

Just came back from the $12 tour. The center is clean and has good gravel roads. Except for that, most of the tour is equivalent (or worst) to the reading the wikipedia page about lemurs and watching a 10 minutes youtube video (you actually do it there). Admittedly, we weren't lucky: today is a rather cold day (50F) and most lemurs hid indoors, where the visitors aren't allowed. So, we saw lemurs only in about 8 cages. But even if all of the lemurs were out and playing, they are behind two (2!) cage nets, with the second net being 2 meters / yards away from visitors. You can barely see them. Forget about pictures. This way you pass by around 20 cages, with the tour guide telling you not to stand in front some of the lemurs, as they are currently having some family issues. At the end, you get to see 3 cages with nocturnal species (perhaps, the best part of today) and that's it!

Any other zoo is better (if the zoo keeps lemurs, as a lot of them do, you'll have a better experience with them there in this center). Want to see lemurs in Durham? Better go to the Durham Life and Science Museum! You'll see them better and closer than here. Otherwise, you can feel good by making a donation, which is apparently well spent on preserving lemurs...

The Lemur Center gives you unprecedented access to witness the great work being done here and time to get up close with their furry residents.

This is not a zoo, it’s a living, breathing, research facility for Lemur monkeys, which adds to the experience in many ways. Immediately you'll be able to tell that the guides are very passionate about the work they’re doing here as they walked you around the facility and educate you on its purpose. Our guide was extremely well spoken and informative.

The Lemur monkeys were pretty cool and there were many different types. One of the most interesting were the nocturnal monkeys that the group had to go into a dark room with red light to witness.

If you’re in the Durham area, make sure that you put this on your list of things to do. Keep in mind you do need reservations and they fill up quickly, so call as soon as you know you’ll be in the area.

Also, this review is specifically just for the tour. They offer many different types of programs that we will be sure to check out when we're in the area again.

A great experience for the...

We had an outstanding experience on the behind-the-scenes tour at the Duke Lemur Center, guided by Ethan. The facilities were incredibly impressive, and getting a glimpse into what happens beyond the public areas was fascinating. Ethan’s knowledge and enthusiasm really stood out—he was not only well-informed but also engaging and clearly passionate about the work being done at the center.

Throughout the tour, we enjoyed great conversations with Ethan and learned so much about the various lemur species and the center’s ongoing research efforts. One of the biggest highlights was visiting the nocturnal lemurs. It was a unique and memorable part of the tour, made even better by having a guide who could share in-depth insights and answer all our questions.

Overall, the visit was both educational and inspiring. We highly recommend the behind-the-scenes tour to anyone interested in wildlife, conservation, or just a truly...