Biological Samples
Slender loris mother with newborn infants which are born pink and nearly hairless. Click image for larger version.
Various biological samples are available for purchase by qualified individuals or institutions. These include banked blood and serum samples from living animals, as well as tissue and organ samples and cadavers of animals that have died at the Lemur Center of natural causes. Lemurs have been designated a CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) Appendix I species indicating that they are threatened with extinction. Hence all living lemurs as well as any biological samples associated with them, are protected by international law. Only individuals conducting bona fide scientific research and employed by a research or academic institution are eligible to purchase blood and serum samples, tissues or cadavers from our collection. Private individuals do not qualify. In addition, the shipment of any lemur biological samples out of the country requires that an international CITES permit be obtained, a process that often requires more than a year.
One time requests can be made to purchase available materials. Unusual or hard to fill requests can be put on standing order to be filled as samples become available. Such materials include brain, placenta or other difficult to preserve specimens. Standing requests are filled on a chronological order received basis.