Peter Klopfer: key obituary facts
Is Peter Klopfer dead? Yes. Peter Klopfer died on June 5, 2026, at age 95.
Cause of death: Peter Klopfer's cause of death has not been publicly confirmed.
What was Peter Klopfer known for?
He was known as German-American zoologist.
More about Peter Klopfer
Born: 9 August 1930.
Place of birth: Berlin.
Gender: male.
Occupation: zoologist.
Education: Yale University, University of California, Los Angeles.
Employer: Duke University.
Also known as: Peter Hubert Klopfer, Peter H. Klopfer.
Known for: EthologyResearch on lemurs.
Peter Klopfer, a German–American zoologist and professor emeritus of biology at Duke University, died on June 5, 2026, at the age of 95.
Born Peter Hubert Klopfer in Berlin on August 9, 1930, he studied at Yale University and the University of California, Los Angeles before building a career in animal behavior and ethology. At Duke, he co-founded the Duke Lemur Center in 1966 with John Buettner-Janusch, helping establish a facility that became home to the world’s largest living collection of endangered primates.
Klopfer was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1963 and of the Animal Behavior Society in 1968, and he later received the Humboldt Research Award for work in sensory and behavioral biology.