World Lemur Day and the World Lemur Festival
World Lemur Day is October 27, 2023!
World Lemur Day is celebrated on the last Friday of October. The World Lemur Festival is celebrated around the world in the weeks surrounding the day.
Help us celebrate lemurs and spread the word about their conservation! With 98% of lemur species threatened with extinction and 31% critically endangered, the time to act is now. Join us as we inspire others to love lemurs and help us save them from extinction.
RESOURCES FOR CELEBRATING WORLD LEMUR DAY
These resources help zoos, conservation organizations, educators, and individuals participate in World Lemur Day and the World Lemur Festival. Find inspiration in media created for other wildlife days, and contact us to learn more about participating.
2023 Event Calendar
World Lemur Day and Festival includes virtual and in person events in Madagascar and around the world, as well as fun social media from zoos and lemur fans!
#LemurArtChallenge
Join us each week in October and create lemur-themed art from our prompts on social media. Win lemur swag from our shop!
Teaching Resources
Find lessons and activities from the Lemur Conservation Network and others about lemurs and Madagascar.
Download 2023 Logo Files
We encourage you to use the 2023 World Lemur Day, World Lemur Festival, and National Lemur Day logos for your event and social posts.
Participation Guide
Find virtual event ideas and easy ways that zoos, conservation organizations, educators, and individuals can participate in World Lemur Day.
Social Media Guide
Find tips for social media messaging, including event hashtags, key messages, and examples of social media posts.
REQUEST OUR LEMURS! CARD GAME
Participating Zoos Can Receive Lemurs! Card Game for Events
Are you a zoo holding an event for the 2023 World Lemur Festival? Let us know, and we’ll send you one Lemurs! card game box (English version) to use with your visitors. The game box includes 94 total cards — including 29 lemur species flashcards — and instructions for 6 games. Some games were adapted from the familiar — Memory, Go Fish, and Top Trumps — and some are unique for these cards!
Shipping costs outside the USA are not included. Additional copies of the game cost $40 plus shipping. Shipping within the USA is $15 for one and $20 for two; these costs are higher outside the USA. Contact us at lemurconservationnetwork@gmail.com to learn more.
HISTORY OF THE WORLD LEMUR FESTIVAL
The first World Lemur Festival was celebrated in 2014, and was organized by Professor Jonah Ratsimbazafy of GERP Madagascar.
The first festival was held only in the capital city of Antananarivo, Madagascar. It raised awareness about the value of lemurs as Madagascar’s unique natural heritage among scientists and the general public. It aimed to awaken pride for lemurs in Malagasy people, improve the economy through tourism, and promote lemur conservation and education worldwide.
The next year in 2015, zoos, organizations, and individuals around the world joined the annual celebration for World Lemur Day and the World Lemur Festival.
Take a look back at how we celebrated through the years in these blog posts.
- 2022 World Lemur Festival Events
- 2021 World Lemur Festival Events
- Lemurs Celebrated Worldwide for the 2020 World Lemur Festival
- 2019 World Lemur Festival Events
- The 5th World Lemur Festival in Antananarivo, Madagascar (2018)
- World Lemur Festival 2018 : Recap
- World Lemur Festival 2017: Recap
- World Lemur Festival 2016: Recap
- 2015 World Lemur Festival Wrap-Up