Wildlife Biologists | Studying Lemurs in the Wild

Field biologists who study lemurs in the wild have to go to Madagascar or the Comoro Islands, where the lemurs live. Local guides help the scientists find wild lemurs. The guides and the scientists use lots of clues when they are tracking wild lemurs, including lemurs’ paw prints, signs that lemurs have been eating, and lemur poop, which scientists call scat.

By studying the scat lemurs leave behind, biologists can get lots of valuable information without touching or disturbing the lemurs at all. With the right equipment, a biologist can use scat to tell you the sex of the animal, who its father was, and whether or not it’s pregnant or even stressed out. By measuring the amount of bacteria and parasites in the scat, biologists can also figure out if the animal is sick.

Observing wild lemurs is particularly challenging, so wildlife biologists use still and video cameras to record data. Like binoculars, cameras can magnify images, allowing scientists to study fine details from a distance. Night vision cameras help scientists discover what animals do when it’s dark.

Scientists can set up cameras so they record only when a motion detector is activated. The scientist can then watch the recording over and over to analyze the animal’s behavior. Recording the animal in action also allows the scientist to share the video with others.

Photo of red-ruffed lemur courtesy of David Haring, Duke Lemur Center