A huge database containing 48 years of life history data for the Earth's most endangered group of mammals, lemurs, is now available online. Visitors can view and download data for more than 3,600 animals representing 27 species of lemurs, lorises and galagos.

aye aye baby
An infant aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) David Haring/Duke Lemur Centre

The Duke Lemur Centre in Durham, North Carolina, is the world's largest and most diverse collection of lemurs outside of Madagascar.

Staff at the centre observe and record virtually every aspect of an animal's life from cradle to grave. For each animal they know when it was born, who its parents were, how fast it grew, what it ate, which animals it mated with, how many offspring it had, and when and why it died.

The hope is that the data will result in better care for lemurs in captivity, and help scientists understand these animals in order to better protect them in the wild.

IBTimesUK presents a gallery featuring some of the centre's inhabitants. Visit the Duke Lemur Centre website to find out more about the project.