Meet Dominique Chicken’s Triplets!
Toulouse Goose, one of Dominique Chicken’s one-month-old infants, handled by a keeper for a routine weighing. Photo by Elizabeth D.
On June 3, 2025, fat-tailed dwarf lemur Dominique Chicken gave birth to triplets! This is Dominique Chicken’s second litter with breeding partner Goose, following the birth of twins Wigeon and Eider in 2023. All three infants are female: Bufflehead, Smew, and Toulouse Goose.
All fat-tailed dwarf lemurs born at the Duke Lemur Center are named after birds. Bufflehead and Smew, like their older sister and brother, get their names from duck species. Toulouse Goose, in a nod to her dad, is named after a breed of domestic goose.
Toulouse Goose at an infant weighing. She’s the easiest of the triplets to identify because her tail has a tiny white tip! Photo by Elizabeth D.
At one month old, Smew is the largest of the three infants, weighing in at about 64 grams, while Bufflehead and Toulouse Goose weigh 59 and 58 grams, respectively. That means that each of these one-month-old fat-tailed dwarf lemurs is about as heavy as a tennis ball!
All dwarf lemurs at the DLC are provided with a wide variety of nest boxes, including PVC tubes, wooden boxes, and suspended enrichment boxes, all suitable for sleeping and raising young. Mothers give birth in the nest boxes and generally will keep their infants hidden inside these shelters. If they need to move their offspring, they do so by carrying them in their mouths. Dwarf lemur offspring of up to three weeks of age are transported by their mother in this fashion.
Toulouse Goose, Bufflehead, and Smew curled up in a nest built by mom Dominique Chicken. Photo by Elizabeth D.
Dwarf lemurs breed at the DLC from mid-April through July, and gestation is only around 60 days. Fat-tailed dwarf lemurs commonly have litters of two or more offspring. Of the 168 fat-tailed dwarf lemurs born at the DLC from our founding through July 2019, 10% were singletons, 38% were twins, 35% were triplets, and 17% were quadruplets.
Sisters Toulouse Goose (top) and Bufflehead (bottom) poking their heads out of a soft sleep spot once the lights go out. Fat-tailed dwarf lemurs are nocturnal, so they wake up when we turn the lights off! Photo by Abby Flyer.
Want to learn more about fat-tailed dwarf lemurs while supporting their care and conservation? You can symbolically adopt a fat-tailed dwarf lemur through our Adopt a Lemur program! You or your chosen recipient will receive an adoption packet and quarterly email updates for a year on a specific lemur who lives at the DLC.
Looking for additional ways to support the DLC? To explore the ways you can help with a tax-deductible donation, please visit our SUPPORT US page.
