Duke Lemur Center announces first baby of 2019

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- Durham is the home of the largest collection of lemur's outside of Madagascar, and that collection now boasts one more.

Duke Lemur Center (DLC) announced the birth of its first baby of 2019: Marie.

Marie was born Feb. 23. She weighed 108 grams, which is slightly heavier than a deck of playing cards.

Marie is a critically endangered Coquerel's sifaka, a type of lemur. She's the first offspring of Gertrude and Remus, and she's the granddaughter of Jovian, star of the Kratt brothers' PBS children's show Zoboomafoo.

DLC reports Marie and her family are doing great.

"Any first-time mom or dad knows how stressful figuring out how to be a good parent can be," DLC Director Greg Dye. "To see these two first-time parents be so successful is a huge tribute to them and to the DLC's amazing staff."

Lemurs are the most endangered mammals on Earth. For the Coquerel's sifakas, habitat loss and hunting are the specific reasons that Coquerel's sifakas are threatened.