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Small Mammal Facts Fact sheets below

Mammal basics
All mammals have three things in common:

  1. All mammals have hair.
  2. Mammal mothers have the ability to produce milk for their babies.
  3. All mammals have specialized inner ear bones.

Most mammals give birth to live young, but three species of mammals called monotremes (the platypus and two echidna species) lay eggs. Almost all mammals are endothermic, or "warm-blooded" (they are able to maintain their body temperature) but there is one species that can be considered ectothermic, or "cold-blooded" (its body temperature varies with the ambient temperature). Find out which one.

Golden lion tamarins
Scientists at the National Zoo discovered that golden lion tamarins must be kept in family groups to reproduce successfully. About two weeks after the birth of offspring (usually twins), the father and siblings begin helping the mother carry the infants. more

Sloths
In wet conditions, algae grow in the spongy fur of sloths, helping to camouflage them in the trees of Latin American rain forests. Sloths, such as the two-toed sloth, live on low-energy leafy diets; they conserve energy by moving slowly, hanging rather than standing, and lowering their body temperatures at night. more

Tree shrew
A female common tree shrew gives birth to blind, helpless young in a nest separate from her own. She visits the nest only once every two days, each time nursing the infants for just five to ten minutes. After about a month, the young leave the nest and become independent. more

Bats
While Westerners often fear and dislike bats, in China bats have long symbolized happiness, longevity, and wealth. About one-quarter of all mammal species are bats, which live everywhere except for polar regions and a few remote islands and mountain tops. Bats play a very important role in controlling insect populations, pollinating flowers, and spreading seeds. more

Fact Sheets

Acouchi
Asian small-clawed otter
Banded mongoose
Bats (not at the Zoo)
Black-footed ferret
Black and rufous giant elephant-shrew
Black howler monkey
Black-tailed prairie dog
Bush squirrel (not at the Zoo)
Chevrotain, or greater Malay mouse deer (not at the Zoo)
Chinchilla
Dark mongoose or cusimanse (not at the Zoo)
Degu
Fennec fox (not at the Zoo)
Geoffroy's cat (not at the Zoo)
Geoffroy's tufted-eared marmoset
Goeldi's monkey (not at the Zoo)
Golden-headed lion tamarin
Golden lion tamarin
Greater Madagascar tenrec
La Plata three-banded armadillo
Lemurs
Lesser tree shrew (not at the Zoo)
Leopard cat (not at the Zoo)
Long-nosed tree shrew (not at the Zoo)
Meerkat
Naked mole-rat
Northern tree shrew
Pale-faced saki
Patagonian mara (not at the Zoo)
Prehensile-tailed porcupine
Prevost's squirrel
Pygmy marmoset (not at the Zoo)
Red panda
Rock cavy
Rock hyrax
Short-nosed echidna (not at the Zoo)
Small Madagascar hedgehog tenrec
Southern tamandua (not at the Zoo)
Spiny mouse (not at the Zoo)
Two-toed sloth

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