Meet Java Chicken’s Triplets!
Fat-tailed dwarf lemur infants Sora, Cooper, and Swift at one week old. Photo by Madison A.
On May 19, 2025, fat-tailed dwarf lemur Java Chicken gave birth to triplets! Java Chicken is a first-time mom, while dad Francolin has previously sired other offspring. She birthed three healthy infants: Sora (male), Cooper (male), and Swift (female).
At their first infant wellness exam, Swift and Cooper weighed 14.9 grams and 14.3 grams, respectively, while their smaller brother Sora weighed only 10.3 grams. By one month old, Sora has caught up to his siblings; each infant now weighs about 70 grams—just slightly heavier than an egg from an actual java chicken!
Sora, the smallest of the triplets, at one week old. Photo by Megan C.
Like all fat-tailed dwarf lemurs born at the Duke Lemur Center, Java Chicken’s triplets are named after birds. Sora shares his name with a small waterbird; Cooper is named after a bird of prey, the Cooper’s hawk; and Swift shares her name not just with pop superstar Taylor, but also a migratory bird that spends most of its life airborne. All three namesake birds are native to North America.
One of the infants at three weeks old, handled by a keeper for a routine weighing. Photo by Sarah K.
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.
Java Chicken inspects her keeper while one of her infants peeks out of the nest. Photo by Sarah K.
One of the infants, one month old, peeks out from the nest. Java Chicken built her nest out of a recycled Coke box, filled with fresh browse provided by her keepers. Photo by Sarah K.
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.
One of the triplets during an infant weighing—yes, that’s a yogurt cup! Photo by Madison A.
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.
