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.
New Small Mammals at the Zoo
The Small Mammal House recently welcomed two new species to its exhibits: northern tree shrews and greater Madagascar tenrecs. Northern tree shrews, native to Southeast Asia, build a nest for their young, in addition to their own nest. After giving birth, females nurse their young every two days and essentially ignore them between feedings. Greater Madagascar tenrecs resemble hedgehogs but have a rounder muzzle and a less compact body.
Golden Lion Tamarins
Two adult golden lion tamarins (GLTs) and two sets of twins, born in November 2006 and late May 2007, spent last summer and early fall in the Zoo's free-range exhibit, in Beaver Valley. The monkeys were returned to the Small Mammal House in late October. Read about the free-range adventures of these endangered animals in 
Monkey Messages and see a 
photo essay.
The Zoo has been working to save these small Brazilian monkeys for more than 30 years. This was the 22nd year we have had free-ranging tamarins. 
more
Adopt a golden lion tamarin or make a donation in support of the Golden Lion Tamarin Conservation Program.
North America Photo Gallery |
Help with cam
Watching black-footed ferrets:
You are viewing the nest box of a black-footed ferret at the Zoo's Conservation and Research Center, where ferrets are bred to be saved from extinction. In 2007, 24 kits were born here and survived past infancy. Ferrets, which once ranged across the Great Plains and are now one of the world's rarest mammals, are more active at night—don't be surprised if the ferret on camera is asleep.
Recovery of the endangered black-footed ferret | 
Black-footed ferret facts
Golden Lion Tamarin Cam
Naked Mole-rat
Mammal Mystery
This small mammal has the face of an agouti, the legs of a tiny deer, and weighs less than a fat house cat. 
What is it?
Golden Lion Tamarin Conservation Program
For
more than 30 years, this program has been saving GLTs
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
