From staff reports
With names like these, the tragic ending comes as no surprise.
Juliet, the possible lemur-mate scientists spent years searching for, died in Madagascar this weekend, never having met her Romeo.
Romeo, the diademed sifaka at the Duke Primate Center, has been waiting six years for a mate. Scientists thought they had found his prize when they captured Juliet last month, but the love affair was not to be: The researchers later discovered that fair Juliet was not a diademed sifaka at all, but was probably a newly discovered sub-species of lemur.
"We are deeply saddened by this sudden death," said Primate Center Director Ken Glander, in a statement. "It is made all the more difficult by the fact that this species is being actively hunted for food in the small area where it is found. So, we urgently need to rescue a breeding population of these animals before they become extinct." He estimated that Juliet was about two years old.
Glander said Juliet's death was caused, in part, by her refusal to eat the food provided to her at Ivoloina Zoological Park in Madagascar, where scientists were attempting to acclimate her to captivity.
Juliet was captured in early October, on Glander's third expedition to Madagascar to search for members of the endangered species. Much of the lemurs' 600-acre native habitat is being destroyed by slash-and-burn agriculture.
After hearing about the death, Glander, a professor of biological anthropology and anatomy, announced he would likely schedule a fourth rescue mission to Madagascar early this summer.
In Madagascar, Glander and his team still have one male sifaka, Juliet's mate, who was adjusting to captivity with her.
Had Juliet survived the six-month to one-year acclimation process, she likely would not have been able to breed with Romeo. DNA testing was scheduled over the next few months to determine if Juliet was a member of a new sub-species.
Primate Center primatologists have estimated that members of captive breeding populations can reproduce at five to 10 times the rate at which wild animals can breed, due to the absence of diseases and natural predators. Such breeding groups can replenish populations of endangered species very quickly, scientists say.
Despite Juliet's death, Glander said he still believes his expeditions are rescue missions. "These animals were going to be killed," he said in a statement. "Their forest is disappearing, and they are being eaten."
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