The species was initially only studied from 5 museum specimens that are housed in 3 collections in various locations in London, Paris and Stockholm[7] and was thought to be extinct in the wild.

The hairy-eared dwarf lemur was then rediscovered in the wild in 1989 by Bernhard Meier when a small population was found in Northern Madagascar in a remote primary lowland rain forest.

[7] Researchers have also discovered the species living in a primary highland rainforest in eastern Madagascar in a very popular tourist location, Andasibe, Vavatenina.

[5] With the rediscovery of the hairy-eared dwarf lemur, new information regarding its physical description was obtained by Meier and Albignac when a small population was captured and observed in captivity.

Their nose and lips are a light pink color, and they exhibit an extraordinarily long tongue compared to other dwarf lemurs.

It is predicted that gestation occurs at the beginning of the wet season (November–December) and that they give birth in January–February; if their reproductive patterns are similar to other lemur species such as Microcebus and Cheirogaleus.

[7] Currently, there are species being held in captivity that are consistently being observed, with breeding programs designed to learn more about the animals and increasing the population size.

Long-term research studies are also ongoing with hopes of finding out more about the mammal's ecology, habitat, distribution, social organization and competition in order to protect the species.

[5][7] Conservationists want to expand protected parks to areas where the lemurs were located in the eastern highland rain forests and are currently unprotected, increasing the risk of extinction for the species.