One of these experts was Tara Harrison, DVM, MPVN, a veterinary oncologist and Associate Professor at NC State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. After the call went out for consultations and information, the number of responses was simply astonishing. “Because sarcomas tend to be particularly aggressive in human children,” says DLC veterinarian Laura Ellsaesser, DVM, “we knew that what were we up against was probably not good.” So the Duke Lemur Center sent out a call for help, reaching out to experts worldwide for assistance in Winnie’s case. Never before had an aye-aye been diagnosed with cancer. The biopsy results came back with bad news: The mass was a cancerous tumor that occurs in bones and soft tissues, known as a sarcoma. Winnie was brought in for an exam, during which the DLC’s veterinarians discovered a large mass in her right arm. In mid-April, at around 10 months old, Winifred’s keepers noted that she was acting a bit “off,” showing less interest in solid food and spending far less time than she typically did moving around and exploring her room. She appeared to have inherited her mother’s curiosity, peeping out of the nest at just five weeks old and venturing fully out of the nestbox by two months of age-ready to explore the wider world.įady proved to be an excellent mother, and she and Winnie were often seen wrestling and playfully chasing each other around their enclosure.īy spring 2021, Winifred had entered the stage, typical of aye-aye infants six months of age and older, where she might alarm human visitors by charging them from across the room in mock attacks.Īt that point, however, things began to change. That infusion of fresh genetic material is essential for the success of any conservation breeding program, as the more genetically diverse a population is, the more resilient and healthy it tends to be.ĭuring her first stage of life, Winnie was a typically active and inquisitive aye-aye infant. Through him, Fady and Winnie introduced a brand-new genetic line into the DLC’s aye-aye population. Her grandsire, Nirina, had been imported from overseas and was unrelated to any other aye-ayes living in North America. Of those, 10 live at the Duke Lemur Center, where they help maintain a genetic safety net for aye-ayes in the wild.Īs Fady’s first offspring, Winnie’s birth was especially exciting. Aye-ayes are endangered in Madagascar, and there are fewer than 30 individuals within human care in the United States. Named “Winifred” after Bette Midler’s character Winifred Sanderson in Hocus Pocus, the infant was born to first-time mom Fady, a five-year-old female on loan from the San Diego Zoo.įady arrived at the Lemur Center in September 2019 to join our conservation breeding program, as organized through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA) Species Survival Plan. ![]() On June 24, 2020, the DLC welcomed its eighth infant of the season: a rare baby aye-aye. ![]() Originally published in December 2021 in Issue 3 of the Duke Lemur Center’s annual magazine.
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