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 slender-tailed meerkats), and primates (such as golden lion tamarins and lemurs).
Young Prehensile-tailed Porcupine on Exhibit
A male prehensile-tailed porcupine, born on August 31, is now on exhibit in the Small Mammal House. This is the fifth offspring for his parents. Read about their first baby and how her sex was determined.
Prehensile-tailed porcupines are nocturnal vegetarian rodents. They use their spineless tails for grasping and hanging.
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Also new to the Small Mammal House are two young burrowing owls, which hatched at the Bird House in August.
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Winter Comes to the Small Mammal House
In late December, animal keepers built pint-size snowmen (and over-size snowflakes) out of snow and adorned them with apples, carrots, and mealworms. The decorations elicited a child-like reaction—a bit of curiosity and a lot of excitement! 
See a slideshow of small mammals enjoying a winter wonderland.
Monkey Messages: Golden Lion Tamarin Updates
Golden lion tamarins are small endangered monkeys native to the Atlantic coast forest of Brazil. The Zoo has been working to conserve them for decades. Find out about monkey moves and conservation efforts in Brazil in the winter edition of 
Monkey Messages.
North America Photo Gallery |
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Watching a black-footed ferret:
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. Her name is Thalia, and she was born in 2009. The ferret kits featured on the cam earlier this year—males Indigo, Cobalt, Navy and females Sky, Sapphire, and Aqua—have been moved West (see the update above). 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
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.
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. 
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