Azalea’s three-day-old infants are gently handled during their infant wellness exam.
Nocturnal baby season has begun at the Duke Lemur Center! On August 21, 2026, four-year-old gray mouse lemur Azalea gave birth to twin girls. This is Azalea’s second time as a mother, after giving birth to twins Peanut and Macadamia in 2024. The twins’ dad is five-year-old Green Bean, although gray mouse lemur males primarily interact with females for breeding and rarely ever meet their offspring, even in the wild.
The two female infants were born at 8.7 and 8.2 grams. By two months old, they each weigh about 55 grams… almost as big as mom! Because gray mouse lemurs only live around three to five years in the wild, they reach full size by about four months old and are sexually mature by their first birthday.
At the Duke Lemur Center, gray mouse lemurs are named after plants, herbs, and spices.
Azalea’s infants are available for an Ultimate Adoption! A new tax-deductible donation of $20,000, which you can opt to pay half now and half in the next year, will allow you the honor of helping the DLC to choose the names for these infants!
One of the infants during their infant wellness exam. Gray mouse lemur moms build elaborate nests to keep their babies safe; you can see Azalea’s craftsmanship in the bottom right corner.
How quickly they grow! One of the twins, about three weeks old, sits in a container on a scale for a routine weighing. Photo by David Haring.
Mom Azalea and one of her daughters peek out of a cozy tube. Photo by Sarah K.