Journey through the Riverbanks Conservation Outpost and observe unusual and fascinating small mammals such as golden-lion tamarins, Hoffman’s two-toed sloths, Matschie’s tree kangaroos, fishing cats, and black-footed cats.
Quick fact: The smallest cat species in the world is so-named for the black undersides of its feet. The black-footed cat may be small (3 to 4 pounds), but it is also a fierce predator.
Quick fact: A tamarin’ diet consists primarily of insects and fruit, but they also eat spiders, snails, lizards, eggs and small birds.
Quick fact: Riverbanks was awarded the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) International Conservation Award for its support of the conservation of Matschie’s tree kangaroos in Papua New Guinea.
Quick fact: “Lemur” is Latin for ghost. The first red-ruffed lemurs were discovered in Madagascar by early French explorers, who heard the animals’ plaintive calls and wild shrieks and mistook them for the souls of the dead.
Quick fact: Ring-tailed lemurs use specialized scent glands located on the inside of their arms to mark their territories. They often rub their tails on these glands and then wave their tails in the air at an intruder as if to say “back off”! This is called stink-fighting.
