Animals in this Exhibit
Scurry into the Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s Small Mammal House, and meet more than 35 species as they move, eat and play in enclosures that mimic their wild habitats. Sand cats dwell in desert landscapes, golden lion tamarins jump from tree to tree and naked mole-rats tunnel through translucent tubes.
Some small mammals share space in mixed-species exhibits, providing the animals an opportunity to interact just as they would in their native habitats. Puzzle feeders, kong toys and other items are carefully placed throughout the exhibits as part of the Zoo’s enrichment program to encourage the animals to exercise their brains and bodies.
Back outside, head down the wooden boardwalk adjacent to Small Mammal House where you'll meet Bennett's wallabies. Continue around the back of the building to get up close to white-nosed coatis and tamarins.
Learn how Small Mammal House residents move, eat and play at the Inside Story, an exhibit that uses radiographs and artifacts to explain the relationship between animal body structure and behavior. Learn how body shape influences why some animals swim and others run, hang or jump. This exhibit was funded by a generous grant from the Smithsonian Women’s Committee.
Small Mammal House keepers provide the animals with enrichment — enclosures, socialization, objects, sounds, smells and other stimuli — to enhance their well-being and give them an outlet to demonstrate their species-typical behaviors. An exhibit’s design is carefully and deliberately planned to provide physically and mentally stimulating toys, activities and environments for the Zoo’s animals. Each enrichment is tailored to give an animal the opportunity to use its natural behaviors in novel and exciting ways.
At Small Mammal House, enclosures are designed to mimic the animals’ wild habitats and encourage natural foraging and social behaviors. Every branch, vine and stone was purposefully placed by keepers to encourage animals to explore their enclosures. Keepers will often scatter and hide food throughout the exhibits or in puzzle feeders to encourage foraging and problem-solving.
Trees within exhibits for arboreal animals, for example, include branches for climbing. Just like real trees, they are designed to have a little bit of give (instead of being immobile). Chunky mulch not only resembles the forest floor visually, but allows mealworms to burrow down into it, where mongooses and other insect eaters can forage for them. The meerkats’ rocky exhibit features hilly areas so that the animals can carry out their instinctive guarding behavior.
In addition to environmental enrichment, many animals participate in training sessions. This social enrichment provides an animal with exercise and mental stimulation while reinforcing the relationship between an animal and his/her keeper. A prehensile-tailed porcupine female was trained to participate in ultrasounds, which enabled animal care staff to provide her with prenatal care and prepare for the porcupette’s birth.
Many of the Zoo's animals paint for enrichment, which stimulates their visual, tactile and olfactory senses. Using non-toxic, water-based paint, small mammals create one-of-a-kind works of art. With more than 30 different species, there are literally dozens of different ways to create a painting. Check out a video of the three-banded armadillo using its feet to paint. In addition to tactile stimulation, painting provides social interaction with a keeper. As with any enrichment activity, an animal can either choose to participate or not.