Welcome, Melisandre!
Rare Aye-Aye Born at the Duke Lemur Center Meet Melisandre, a rare
Melisandre's mother Ardrey is an experienced, attentive mother who spends most of her time inside her nest with her infant. And Melisandre is thriving: By August 16, she’d grown to 98 grams; and on August 27, she tipped the scales at 210 grams.
baby aye-aye born at the Duke Lemur Center on August 13, 2019! The daughter of 23-year-old Ardrey and 9-year-old Grendel, “Mel” is one of nine aye-ayes at the Duke Lemur Center and one of only 25 of her kind in the United States. She is Ardrey’s sixth infant.
Melisandre will stay with her mother Ardrey for two to three years while she learns how to forage for food, build a nest and other aye-aye survival skills.
Aye-ayes are nocturnal primates with bushy tails and bony middle fingers. They are endangered on their native island of Madagascar, where logging, slashand-burn agriculture, and hunting are suspected to have cut their numbers in half in recent decades.
Melisandre’s grandparents were the first aye-ayes ever imported to the United States -- in 1987 (at the time they were the only aye-ayes in the world within human care), and in 1991.
The aye-aye is one of the gentlest lemur species, and they are very intelligent. Learn all about aye-ayes on pages 4 to 5. Melisandre weighed 81 grams on her first weighing on August 14th. Although her birthweight was lower than average, Mel’s keeper, Matt Cuskelly, observed that despite her small size she seemed bright, alert, and strong.
Baby aye-aye Melisandre has bright, beautiful eyes! Watch a video of baby aye-aye Melisandre (on September 19, 2019, when she was one month old) on Duke Lemur Center's YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/gmGg5fr_fnM. At just under one month old, Melisandre peeks over the edge of the scale during her weekly weighing (September 10). Photo by David Haring.
Visitors won’t be able to see the new infant, but they can see her 36-year-old grandmother, Endora. Just be sure to book a tour before visiting. The Duke Lemur Center in coordination with other institutions works diligently to maintain a genetic safety net for aye-ayes in the wild. Each new birth helps sustain a healthy and genetically diverse population of aye-ayes for the long-term future. To learn more about aye-ayes, visit https://lemur.duke. edu/discover/meet-the-lemurs/aye-aye/. To help support the care and conservation of aye-ayes through the Duke Lemur Center’s Adopt a Lemur Program, visit https://lemur. duke.edu. Symbolic lemur adoption goes toward the $8,400 per year cost it takes to care for each lemur at the Duke Lemur Center, as well as aiding their conservation efforts in Madagascar. Lemur "adopters" also receive quarterly updates and photos, making this a fun, educational gift that keeps giving all year long! Visit https://lemur.duke. edu/donate/adopt/ to learn more. - Source: Duke Lemur Center Staff.
Above: New baby aye-aye Melisandre was born at the Duke Lemur Center on August 13, 2019. Photo by David Haring.
Melisandre, when she was approximately 12 hours old. The infant was born on August 13, 2019 and weighed for the first time (when this photo was taken) the morning of September 14. Photo by David Haring.
Melisandre on September 19. The Duke Lemur Center is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and works within a network of other AZA-accredited institutions nationwide to develop and adhere to Species Survival Plans, which use carefully planned conservation breeding programs to create a “genetic safety net” for rare and endangered species like the aye-aye. Photo by David Haring.
October 2019 www.ChillKids.com/news
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