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The Zooquarium Podcast

Leapin' Lemurs with Dr. Tim Eppley

7/14/202617 min

Mike and Chanel continue their conversation with ecologist Tim Eppley about aye-ayes, all other lemurs, what it's like to study animal and plant-life in Madagascar, and they learn about his journey from animal-lover to Chief Conservation Officer at Wildlife Madagascar.

Dr. Timothy Eppley is a conservation biologist and primatologist who has spent nearly two decades studying wildlife in Africa, with a particular focus on the lemurs and ecosystems of Madagascar. As Chief Conservation Officer for Wildlife Madagascar, he leads research and conservation programs that help protect some of the world's most endangered species while supporting local communities. Tim's passion for wildlife began at an early age and has taken him from studying bonobos and lemurs in the field to publishing more than 100 scientific papers and helping shape conservation efforts across Madagascar. He loves sharing stories about the incredible animals he works with and helping people discover why biodiversity matters.

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The Zooquarium releases episodes about different animals every other Tuesday with bonus content for each episode the following week. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you’re informed when new episodes come out! Video versions are available on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, and thezooquarium.com/podcast

Credits

Special thanks to

Milo & Milo's family, Dr. Tim Eppley, Michele Kraus Bennett, Cayley Pater, The Elakha Alliance, Teddy Albertson, and every single aye-aye!

Clips

Bottle-feeding Confiscated Bear Cubs
Inventing Chameleon Day
Why Lemurs Switch Schedules
King Julien Tourism Effect
Four Sites, Big Mission

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Sunny the Snail0:00

    This bonus episode features more from Mike and Chanel's conversation with ecologist Tim Eppley. Woo-hoo!

  2. Mike Bennett· Host0:05

    What, what makes a lemur a lemur?

  3. Tim Eppley· Guest0:09

    Well, um, uh, there's not really one defining characteristic. Uh, I would say, you know, they're part of a group of primates called the strepsirrhines, uh, which means wet-nosed, and so they all have wet noses. Yeah, that's kind of it. Um, I'm sure there are some other anatomical features. Uh, it's definitely not with dentition. Uh, dentition, uh, is different between each of the families. Yeah, I'm not really sure.

  4. Mike Bennett· Host0:36

    [laughs] Oh, no. I- Um, yeah.

  5. Tim Eppley· Guest0:38

    Genetic- genetically, genet- phylogenetically, you know, these five families, um, of present-day lemurs are all most closely related. Uh, but, uh, yeah, wet noses, um, and those are what relate them to, uh, the African strepsirrhines, uh, or the mainland African strepsirrhines, so galagos, pottos, uh, and then the Asian, uh, ones, which are the lorisos. So the slow loris, slender loris, uh, they're all part of that same group.

  6. Mike Bennett· Host1:09

    Last question from me. I'm sure Chanel has questions. [laughs] Is dentition teeth?

  7. Tim Eppley· Guest1:12

    [laughs] Yeah, sorry. Yeah.

  8. Mike Bennett· Host1:14

    Okay, great. Thank you.

  9. Tim Eppley· Guest1:14

    They're teeth.

  10. Mike Bennett· Host1:14

    No, no, it's good. I'm just- The- ... clarifying for- There's, um...

  11. Tim Eppley· Guest1:16

    [laughs] Yeah, so a lot of, you know, anthropologists, uh, you know, would have, like, a dental formula for each- Got it ... um, each species, and, um, they'll distinguish, yeah, uh, between species based on that or

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