Mammals vary in size from the 100-foot-long blue whale to the two-gram bumblebee bat, one of the world's most endangered species. Most mammals measure less than one foot (including the head and body). That makes small mammals far more common, if less well known, than large mammals like elephants, tigers, and people.
Small mammals cut across categories. Most species are rodents (such as the naked mole-rat), insectivores, and bats, but there are also carnivores, such as Asian small-clawed otters, and primates, such as golden lion tamarins and lemurs.
Sengi Born at the Small Mammal House
In February, keepers at the Zoo's Small Mammal House noticed a third black and rufous giant elephant-shrew in the exhibit where there had been just two. It was a baby! Typical for this African species, babies remain buried deep in their nest for the first several weeks of life.
Watch a video of the baby and an interview with a keeper.
Vet Stories: A Porcupine's Tail
Soon after Winnie, a prehensile-tailed porcupine, arrived at the Zoo in 2004, her keepers discovered that the end of her tail was injured. 
Find out how the vets and other staff treated her.
Small Mammals Photo Gallery |
Help with cam
Can’t see any animals?
The animal in this exhibit may have moved out of view. FONZ volunteers operate some cams, but most of our cams show a fixed view.
Watching golden lion tamarins:
You are viewing an enclosure in the Zoo's Small Mammal House where a family of golden lion tamarins (GLTs) lives. You may see other animals that live here too, such as sloths and acouchis. There are only about 1,500 GLTs in the wild. For decades, Zoo scientists have collaborated with conservation organizations to help save from extinction these small endangered monkeys.
GLT Conservation | 
Adopt a Golden Lion Tamarin
Black-footed Ferret Cam
Naked Mole-rat
Mammal Mystery
Family members of this species greet with what looks like a kiss. They're not really kissing, but gently touching their front teeth together. What animals recognize each other this way?
Golden Lion Tamarin Conservation Program
For
more than 30 years, this program has been saving these small monkeys
through conservation breeding and reintroduction to
their natural habitat in Brazil. Thanks to the success
of the program, the status of GLTs was downgraded from
"critically endangered" to "endangered" by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) in 2003. more
